Patch with first 96th Air Refueling Squadron emblem (approved 19 June 1956)[1]

The 96th Air Refueling Squadron was a unit of PACAF's 15th Wing at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii in partnership with the 203rd Air Refueling Squadron and 154th Maintenance Group of the Hawaii Air National Guard. It was inactivated on 3 September 2015.[4]

Contents

The 96th Air Refueling Squadron was constituted as the 6th Reconnaissance Squadron (Medium) on 20 November 1940 and activated on 15 January 1941 at March Field, California. Originally attached to the 41st Bombardment Group, it became assigned to it on 25 February 1942. The squadron was tasked with conducting antisubmarine patrols, from December 1941–August 1942 and from December 1942–February 1943.

It was redesignated as the 396th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 22 April 1942 and as the 396th Bombardment Squadron, Medium, c. 9 May 1943. Trained with North American B-25 Mitchell medium bombers, being assigned to Seventh Air Force. Deployed to the Central Pacific Area, from 19 January–23 September 1944, engaging in combat operations in the Gilbert Islands, then returning to Hawaii in October 1944.

Deployed to Okinawa in June 1945, flying combat bombardment missions over eastern China and Formosa. Prepared for combat action as part of Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of the Japanese Home Islands however the Japanese Capitulation in August cancelled those plans. Squadron demobilized on Okinawa during the fall of 1945, aircraft being sent to reclamation in the Philippines. Personnel returned to the United States and squadron inactivated on 27 January 1946.

Activated as 96th Air Refueling Squadron, Medium in 1953. Based at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma; supported refueling operations primarily in Northeast Air Command and Alaskan Air Command areas. Also deployed to Guam in 1956 flying KC-97F and G aircraft. The squadron was reassigned to the 11th Bombardment Wing, on 3 December 1957. Redesignated as the 96th Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy on 8 March 1958, the squadron converted that same year to the KC-135A. The 96th ARS was discontinued on 1 October 1960. Organized on 15 December 1960, and assigned to 11th Bombardment (later, 11th Strategic Aerospace) Wing, at Altus AFB, OK, with the KC-135A as its aircraft, it was discontinued and inactivated, on 25 June 1965 and its mission, personnel and aircraft were transferred to the 11th Air Refueling Squadron, which was transferred on paper to Altus from Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.[5]

1.
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker
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The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is a military aerial refueling aircraft. It and the Boeing 707 airliner were developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype and it is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transport aircraft. The KC-135 was the US Air Forces first jet-powered refueling tanker, the KC-135 entered service with the United States Air Force in 1957, it is one of six military fixed-wing aircraft with over 50 years of continuous service with its original operator. The KC-135 is supplemented by the larger KC-10, studies have concluded that many of the aircraft could be flown until 2040, although maintenance costs have greatly increased. The aircraft will eventually be replaced by the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus, like its sibling, the commercial Boeing 707 jet airliner, the KC-135 was derived from the Boeing 367-80 jet transport proof of concept demonstrator, which was commonly called the Dash-80. The KC-135 is similar in appearance to the 707, but has a fuselage and is shorter than the 707. The KC-135 predates the 707, and is quite different from the civilian airliner. Boeing gave the future KC-135 tanker the initial designation Model 717, in 1954 USAFs Strategic Air Command held a competition for a jet-powered aerial refueling tanker. Lockheeds tanker version of the proposed Lockheed L-193 airliner with rear fuselage-mounted engines was declared the winner in 1955, in the end, orders for the Lockheed tanker were dropped rather than supporting two tanker designs. Lockheed never produced its jet airliner, while Boeing would eventually dominate the market with a family of airliners based on the 707. In 1954, the Air Force placed an order for 29 KC-135As. The first aircraft flew in August 1956 and the initial production Stratotanker was delivered to Castle Air Force Base, California, the last KC-135 was delivered to the Air Force in 1965. These basic features make it resemble the commercial Boeing 707 and 720 aircraft. The USAF EC-135 Looking Glass was subsequently replaced in its role by the U. S. Navy E-6 Mercury aircraft, the KC-135Q variant was modified to carry JP-7 fuel necessary for the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, segregating the JP-7 from the KC-135s own fuel supply. The tanker also had special fuel systems for moving the different fuels between different tanks, the only external difference between a KC-135R and a KC-135T is the presence of a clear window on the underside of the empennage of the KC-135T where a remote controlled searchlight is mounted. It also has two ground refueling ports, located in rear wheel well so ground crews can fuel both the body tanks and wing tanks separately. Eight KC-135R aircraft are receiver-capable tankers, commonly referred to as KC-135R, All eight aircraft were with the 22d Air Refueling Wing at McConnell AFB, Kansas, in 1994. They are primarily used for extension and Special Operations missions

2.
203d Air Refueling Squadron
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The 203d Air Refueling Squadron is a unit of the Hawaii Air National Guard 154th Wing located at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Honolulu, Hawaii. The 203d is equipped with the KC-135R Stratotanker, the 203d Air Refueling Squadron is a unit of the 154th Wing. It is an associate Unit with the 96th Air Refueling Squadron at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, the squadron flies the KC-135R Stratotanker, which provides the core aerial-refueling capability for the Air Force and has been in this role for more than 50 years. It also provides aerial-refueling support to Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, the KC-135 is also capable of transporting litter and ambulatory patients using patient support pallets during aeromedical evacuations. Established in 1993 to provide the Hawaii Air National Guard an air refueling mission and it began as a small 4 aircraft squadron until 1995 when it was authorized to grow to 8 aircraft and increased personnel. As real world began, the focus turned to Operation Allied Force. Seventy combat sorties were flown with a 100 percent mission success rate and zero ground/air mishaps or injuries, the unit took part in exercise RIMPAC2000, taking place in June 2000. In February 2001, a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft from the squadron provided assistance to the U. S. Department of Defense humanitarian aid airlift to earthquake stricken India. A 203d KC-135 tanker took off from Hickam Air Force Base to refuel the first India-bound C-5 Galaxy cargo aircraft laden with relief supplies. The U. S. Air Force C-5 aircraft had departed Travis AFB, California, loaded with heavy equipment and other relief supplies needed in the disaster areas. afhra. af. mil/

3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci

4.
United States Air Force
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The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch of the U. S. military to be formed, the U. S. Air Force is a military service organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense, the U. S. Air Force provides air support for surface forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2015, the service more than 5,137 military aircraft,406 ICBMs and 63 military satellites. It has a $161 billion budget with 313,242 active duty personnel,141,197 civilian employees,69,200 Air Force Reserve personnel, and 105,500 Air National Guard personnel. According to the National Security Act of 1947, which created the USAF and it shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The stated mission of the USAF today is to fly, fight, and win in air, space and we will provide compelling air, space, and cyber capabilities for use by the combatant commanders. We will excel as stewards of all Air Force resources in service to the American people, while providing precise and reliable Global Vigilance, Reach and it should be emphasized that the core functions, by themselves, are not doctrinal constructs. The purpose of Nuclear Deterrence Operations is to operate, maintain, in the event deterrence fails, the US should be able to appropriately respond with nuclear options. Dissuading others from acquiring or proliferating WMD, and the means to deliver them, moreover, different deterrence strategies are required to deter various adversaries, whether they are a nation state, or non-state/transnational actor. Nuclear strike is the ability of forces to rapidly and accurately strike targets which the enemy holds dear in a devastating manner. Should deterrence fail, the President may authorize a precise, tailored response to terminate the conflict at the lowest possible level, post-conflict, regeneration of a credible nuclear deterrent capability will deter further aggression. Finally, the Air Force regularly exercises and evaluates all aspects of operations to ensure high levels of performance. Nuclear surety ensures the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear operations, the Air Force, in conjunction with other entities within the Departments of Defense or Energy, achieves a high standard of protection through a stringent nuclear surety program. The Air Force continues to pursue safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons consistent with operational requirements, adversaries, allies, and the American people must be highly confident of the Air Forces ability to secure nuclear weapons from accidents, theft, loss, and accidental or unauthorized use. This day-to-day commitment to precise and reliable nuclear operations is the cornerstone of the credibility of the NDO mission, positive nuclear command, control, communications, effective nuclear weapons security, and robust combat support are essential to the overall NDO function. OCA is the method of countering air and missile threats, since it attempts to defeat the enemy closer to its source

5.
Aerial refueling
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The procedure allows the receiving aircraft to remain airborne longer, extending its range or loiter time on station. A series of air refuelings can give range limited only by crew fatigue, alternatively, a shorter take-off roll can be achieved because take-off can be at a lighter weight before refueling once airborne. Aerial refueling has also considered as a means to reduce fuel consumption on long-distance flights greater than 3,000 nautical miles. Potential fuel savings in the range of 35-40% have been estimated for long haul flights, usually, the aircraft providing the fuel is specially designed for the task, although refueling pods can be fitted to existing aircraft designs if the probe-and-drogue system is to be used. There is no known regular civilian in-flight refueling activity, for instance, in the Gulf War and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the Iraq War, all coalition air sorties were air-refueled except for a few short-range ground attack sorties in the Kuwait area. The first mid-air refueling, based on the development of Alexander P. de Seversky, as the 1920s progressed, greater numbers of aviation enthusiasts vied to set new aerial long-distance records, using inflight air refueling. One such enthusiast, who would revolutionize aerial refueling was Sir Alan Cobham, member of the Royal Flying Corps in World War I, and a pioneer of long-distance aviation. During the 1920s, he made long-distance flights to places as far afield as Africa and Australia and this craft was eventually modified by Airspeed to Cobhams specification, for a non-stop flight from London to India, using in-flight refueling to extend the planes flight duration. Meanwhile, in 1929, a group of U. S. Army Air Corps fliers, led by then Major Carl Spaatz, set an endurance record of over 150 hours with the Question Mark over Los Angeles. Aerial refueling remained a dangerous process until 1935 when brothers Fred and Al Key demonstrated a spill-free refueling nozzle. They exceeded the Hunters record by nearly 100 hours in a Curtiss Robin monoplane, the US was mainly concerned about transatlantic flights for faster postal service between Europe and America. In 1931 W. Irving Glover, the assistant postmaster, wrote an extensive article for Popular Mechanics concerning the challenges. In his article he even mentioned the use of Aerial refueling after take off as a possible solution, by 1931 they had demonstrated refueling between two Vickers Virginias, with fuel flow controlled by an automatic valve on the hose which would cut off if contact was lost. Royal Air Force officer Richard Atcherley had observed the dangerous aerial-refueling techniques in use at barnstorming events in the US and determined to create a workable system. In 1934, Cobham sold off the airline Cobham Air Routes Ltd to Olley Air Service, atcherlys system was bought up by Cobhams company, and with some refinement and continuous improvement through the late 30s, it became the first practical refueling system. Sir Alan Cobhams Grappled-line looped-hose air-to-air refueling system borrowed from techniques patented by David Nicolson and John Lord, and was publicly demonstrated for the first time in 1935. In the system the aircraft, at one time an Airspeed Courier, trailed a steel cable which was then grappled by a line shot from the tanker. The line was drawn back into the tanker where the receivers cable was connected to the refueling hose

6.
Pacific Air Forces
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Pacific Air Forces is a Major Command of the United States Air Force and is also the air component command of the United States Pacific Command. The mission of Pacific Air Forces is to provide air and space power to promote U. S. interests in the Asia-Pacific region during peacetime, through crisis. PACAF comprises three numbered Air Forces, nine main bases and nearly 375 aircraft. The commands area of responsibility extends from the west coast of the United States to the east coast of Asia and from the Arctic to the Antarctic, the area is home to nearly two billion people who live in 44 countries. Not to be confused with Far East Air Force, the military organization of the United States Army in the Philippine Islands from 1941 to 1942. The beginnings of PACAF can be traced back to June 1944, Far East Air Forces was activated on 3 August 1944, at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. FEAF had actually created on 15 June 1944, and Fifth Air Force assigned to it. FEAF was subordinate to the U. S. Army Forces Far East, the creation of FEAF consolidated the command and control authority over United States Army Air Forces units widely deployed throughout the southwest Pacific in World War II. A realignment of forces was needed by the USAAF to better organize its forces in the Pacific for peacetime. Shortly afterwards, Eighth Air Force was reassigned to the newly established Strategic Air Command on 7 June 1946, the major mission of PACUSA in the postwar years was occupation duty in Japan and the demilitarization of the Japanese society in conjunction with the United States Army. In addition, PACUSA helped to support atomic bomb testing in the Pacific Proving Grounds beginning with the Operation Crossroads test on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands in 1946. With the impending establishment of the United States Air Force as an independent service later that year, on that same date, Seventh Air Force in Hawaii was inactivated with its organization absorbed by HQ, FEAF. On 25 June 1950, the forces of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea invaded South Korea. On 27 June, the United Nations Security Council voted to assist the South Koreans in resisting the invasion, president Harry Truman authorized General of the Army Douglas MacArthur to commit units to the battle. MacArthur ordered General George E. Stratemeyer, CIC of FEAF, despite the post-World War II demobilization of United States armed forces, the U. S. Air Force still had substantial forces in the Pacific to oppose the North Korean military. Support units were equipped with the Douglas C-54 Skymaster cargo aircraft and the Boeing RB-17 Flying Fortress, the 512th and 514th Weather Reconnaissance Squadrons of the 2143d Air Weather Wing were located at Yokota Air Base, Japan, and Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. On 29 June 1950, the unit began flying missions over the Korean Peninsula in their RB-29 Superfortresses to provide FEAF Bomber Command with target. Eventually, these USAF F-86 units would establish a kill ratio of 10,1 versus their KPAF adversaries, during the Korean War FEAFs Fifth Air Force was the main United Nations combat air command until the Korean Armistice Agreement ended the combat 1953

7.
Latin
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Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets, Latin was originally spoken in Latium, in the Italian Peninsula. Through the power of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language, Vulgar Latin developed into the Romance languages, such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Romanian. Latin, Italian and French have contributed many words to the English language, Latin and Ancient Greek roots are used in theology, biology, and medicine. By the late Roman Republic, Old Latin had been standardised into Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin was the colloquial form spoken during the same time and attested in inscriptions and the works of comic playwrights like Plautus and Terence. Late Latin is the language from the 3rd century. Later, Early Modern Latin and Modern Latin evolved, Latin was used as the language of international communication, scholarship, and science until well into the 18th century, when it began to be supplanted by vernaculars. Ecclesiastical Latin remains the language of the Holy See and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Today, many students, scholars and members of the Catholic clergy speak Latin fluently and it is taught in primary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions around the world. The language has been passed down through various forms, some inscriptions have been published in an internationally agreed, monumental, multivolume series, the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Authors and publishers vary, but the format is about the same, volumes detailing inscriptions with a critical apparatus stating the provenance, the reading and interpretation of these inscriptions is the subject matter of the field of epigraphy. The works of several hundred ancient authors who wrote in Latin have survived in whole or in part and they are in part the subject matter of the field of classics. The Cat in the Hat, and a book of fairy tales, additional resources include phrasebooks and resources for rendering everyday phrases and concepts into Latin, such as Meissners Latin Phrasebook. The Latin influence in English has been significant at all stages of its insular development. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers cobbled together huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek words, dubbed inkhorn terms, as if they had spilled from a pot of ink. Many of these words were used once by the author and then forgotten, many of the most common polysyllabic English words are of Latin origin through the medium of Old French. Romance words make respectively 59%, 20% and 14% of English, German and those figures can rise dramatically when only non-compound and non-derived words are included. Accordingly, Romance words make roughly 35% of the vocabulary of Dutch, Roman engineering had the same effect on scientific terminology as a whole

8.
Distinguished Unit Citation
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The unit with the most Presidential Unit Citations is the USS Parche with 9 citations. The Army citation was established by Executive Order 9075 on 26 February 1942, superseded by Executive Order 9396 on Dec.2,1943, as with other Army unit citations, the PUC is in a larger frame than other ribbons, and is worn above the right pocket. All members of the unit may wear the decoration, whether or not they participated in the acts for which the unit was cited. Only those assigned to the unit at the time of the action cited may wear the decoration as a permanent award, for both the Army and Air Force, the emblem is a solid blue ribbon enclosed in a gold frame. The Air Force PUC was adopted from the Army Distinguished Unit Citation after the Air Force became a military branch in 1947. By Executive Order 10694, dated Jan,10,1957 the Air Force redesignated the Distinguished Unit Citation as the Presidential Unit Citation. The Air Force PUC is the color and design as the Army PUC but slightly smaller. The Citation is carried on the units colors in the form of a blue streamer,4 ft long and 2.75 in wide. For the Army, only on rare occasions will a larger than battalion qualify for award of this decoration. The Navy citation was established by Executive Order 9050 on 6 February 1942, the Navy version has blue, yellow, and red horizontal stripes, and is the only Navy ribbon having horizontal stripes. These are only worn by persons who meet the criteria at the time it is awarded to the unit, unlike the Army, those who later join the unit do not wear it on a temporary basis. The current decoration is known as the Department of Homeland Security Presidential Unit Citation. A Coast Guard version of the award was awarded to all U. S. Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary personnel responding to Hurricane Katrina by President George W. Bush for rescue, the United States Public Health Service Presidential Citation was established in 2015. The design was finalized by the Army Institute of Heraldry on 17 August 2015, two units of the Free French Forces were awarded Presidential Unit Citations during World War II. On April 22,1986, the 1st Fighter Group Força Aérea Brasileira was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions in the Po Valley region of Italy in World War II. The Brazilians, operating in Italy in support of Allied forces, destroyed in one day over 45 vehicles, strafed pontoon bridges on the River Po, eleven missions of 44 sorties were flown destroying nine motor transports and damaging 17. One Belgian-Luxembourgian battalion of the Belgian United Nations Command was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation once for actions during the Battle of the Imjin River, the Colombia Battalion received the citation while attached to the American 21st Infantry Regiment in 1951. One Dutch unit, the Netherlands Detachment United Nations, part of the Regiment Van Heutsz, was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation twice for actions during the Korean War, the first citation was awarded after the battle near Wonju and Hoengson in February 1951

9.
Air Force Meritorious Unit Award
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The Air Force Meritorious Unit Award or is a mid level unit award of the United States Air Force. Established in 2004, the award recognizes those unit who demonstrate exceptionally meritorious conduct in support of combat operations. Eligible service is retroactive to 11 September 2001, the recommended unit must display such outstanding devotion and superior performance of exceptionally difficult tasks as to set it apart and above other units with similar missions. The degree of achievement required is the same as that which would warrant award of the Legion of Merit to an individual, superior performance of the normal mission alone does not justify award of the MUC. Service in a zone is not required, but service must be directly related to the combat effort. The Air Force MUA is worn immediately after the Gallant Unit Citation, additional awards of the MUA are denoted by bronze oak leaf clusters. The component commander will automatically consider all disapproved Meritorious Unit Awards for the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

10.
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
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The Air Force Outstanding Unit Award is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force. It was established in 1954 and was the first independent Air Force decoration created, the Air Force Longevity Service Award would follow in 1957 with most of the standard Air Force awards established in the early to mid 1960s. The Outstanding Unit Award is awarded to any unit of the U. S, multiple awards of the Outstanding Unit Award are denoted by oak leaf clusters on the ribbon. Until 2004, the Outstanding Unit Award was the senior most unit award in the U. S. Air Force and it is awarded to personnel who were assigned or attached to the unit receiving the award during the period it was awarded for. Non-USAF personnel personnel assigned to USAF units awarded the Outstanding Unit Award are also eligible to wear the ribbon on their uniforms, however, the ribbon does not come in the larger size of unit awards common to the U. S. Army

11.
15th Wing
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The 15th Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. The wing reports directly to the commander, Pacific Air Forces and its history goes back to just before World War II, when the 15th Pursuit Group was organized at Wheeler Field, Hawaii from elements of the 18th Pursuit Group. The groups combat effectiveness was largely destroyed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and it later became a Twentieth Air Force very long range fighter group on Iwo Jima, escorting Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers that attacked the Japanese home Islands. In April 1945 the group earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for combat action over Japan, following the end of the war, the group returned to Hawaii, where it was inactivated in 1946. It performed the air defense mission at Niagara Falls Municipal Airport, New York until it was discontinued in 1960, in July 1962, Tactical Air Command organized the 15th Tactical Fighter Wing as the second McDonnell F-4 Phantom II wing at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. In 1970 the wing was inactivated and its mission, personnel and equipment were transferred to the 1st Tactical Fighter Wing, which moved on paper to MacDill from Hamilton Air Force Base, California. Little more than a later, the wing returned to Hawaii as the 15th Air Base Wing. The wing has been stationed at Hickam since then, in 1984, the 15th group and 15th wing were consolidated into a single unit. The 15 Wing is composed of three groups and one direct reporting squadron each with specific functions, the operations group controls all flying and airfield operations. The maintenance group performs aircraft and aircraft support equipment maintenance, the medical group provides medical and dental care. The 15th Comptroller Squadron performs financial management for the wing, the remaining functions of the wing are staff agencies. Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam is also host to numerous tenant organizations, the Air Force side of the installation supports 140 tenant and associate units. The unit was constituted as the 15th Pursuit Group and was activated at Wheeler Field, Hawaii. The original squadrons of the group were the 45th, 46th, the group drew its cadre from the 18th Pursuit Group, which had been stationed at Wheeler since 1927. In addition to its combat aircraft the group flew the Curtiss A-12 Shrike, Grumman OA-9 Goose, Martin B-12. A little more than a later, on 7 December 1941. Bombing and strafing attacks that morning by carrier-based planes of the Japanese strike force destroyed many assigned aircraft, both received the Distinguished Service Cross. Because of the casualties suffered by the group in the attack

12.
Hawaii Air National Guard
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The Hawaii Air National Guard is the air force militia of the State of Hawaii, United States of America. It is, along with the Hawaii Army National Guard, an element of the Hawaii National Guard, as state militia units, the units in the Hawaii Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Hawaii through the office of the Hawaii Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The Hawaii Air National Guard is headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Honolulu, under the Total Force concept, Hawaii Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components of the United States Air Force. Hawaii ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of public services. It is a unit with the USAF Pacific Air Forces 15th Wing. The 154th is a wing, consisting of Air Supremacy, Airlift, Radar. 109th Air Operations Group Co-located with the 613th AOC at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii Region Air Operations Center Located at Wheeler Army Airfield. Air defense of the Hawaiian island chain, 169th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Stationed at Joint Surveillance System station H-01, ARSR-4 Radar, Joint-use site between HI ANG and FAA. 21°30′27″N 158°08′31″W 150th Aircraft Control and Warning Flight 169 ACWS OL-AA Located atop Mount Kokee, designated as Joint Surveillance System station H-02, AN/FPS-117v4 Radar, Joint-use site between HI ANG and FAA. 22°08′52″N 159°38′42″W The Hawaii Territory Air National Guard was formed as the 199th Fighter Squadron, the territory had been allocated the World War II 463d Fighter Squadron on 24 April, the 469th having served in China as part of Fourteenth Air Force during World War II. The 198th Fighter Squadron was bestowed the lineage, history, honors, the squadron was equipped with F-47N Thunderbolts and was operationally gained by Seventh Air Force. Its mission was the air defense of Hawaii, Bellows Field, which was attacked during the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on Oahu, was excess after World War II ended, and it served as home for the Hawaii Air National Guard. In 1947, the costs to operate Bellows as an active Air National Guard station led the Territorial government to negotiate with the Army about its future. The Army indicated that it wanted to retain the field in a commissioned status, the Army offered the Aviation Unit of the Hawaiian National Guard joint use of the field provided all maintenance was assumed by the Guard. A settlement was reached to move the 199th to Hickam Field, other HI ANG units perform air defense radar, combat communications and air operations missions. After the September 11th,2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, also, Hawaii ANG units have been deployed overseas as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq as well as other locations as directed

13.
March Air Reserve Base
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March Air Reserve Base, previously known as March Air Force Base is located in Riverside County, California between the cities of Riverside and Moreno Valley. It is the home to the Air Force Reserve Commands 4th Air Force Headquarters and the host 452d Air Mobility Wing, for almost 50 years, March AFB was a Strategic Air Command base during the Cold War. The host unit at March is the Air Force Reserves 452d Air Mobility Wing, March JARB is also the home to Headquarters, 4th Air Force of the Air Force Reserve Command and multiple units of the California Air National Guard. Prior to 2013, the 144 FW stationed F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, initially consisting of F-16C/D Block 25, then F-16C/D Block 32, on alert at March. Following the wings transition to the F-15 Eagle, the 144 FW now stations an air defense alert detachment F-15C/D Eagle aircraft at this location in support of USNORTHCOM. Dragon Flight is a formation flight demonstration team, based at March. The team uses the T-34 Mentor, making appearances throughout the southwest United States each year. The March Field Airfest, also known as Thunder Over the Empire, is an air show held at March. The air show is among the largest events in the Inland Empire, the show has featured such performers as the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, the F-22 Raptor and many other military and civilian demonstrations. 2010 saw the Patriots Jet Team as the demonstration team of the show. Attendance for the 2010 show was estimated at over 150,000, March is one of the oldest airfields operated by the United States military, being established as Alessandro Flying Training Field in February 1918. It was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917, the airfield was renamed March Field the following month for 2d Lieutenant Peyton C. March, Jr. the recently deceased son of then-Army Chief of Staff Peyton C, March, who was killed in an air crash in Texas just fifteen days after being commissioned. The establishment of March Air Force Base began in the early 20th century at a time when the United States was rushing to build up its forces in anticipation of an entry into World War I. At the same time, the War Department announced its intentions to build new military installations. The Army quickly set about establishing the new air field, sergeant Charles E. Garlick, who had landed at Alessandro Field in a Curtiss JN-4 Jenny in November 1917, was selected to lead the advance contingent of four men to the new base from Rockwell Field. On 20 March 1918, Alessandro Flying Training Field became March Field, March, Jr. son of the Army Chief of Staff, who had been killed when his Curtiss JN-4 Jenny crashed in Fort Worth, Texas the previous month. His crash occurred two weeks after he had commissioned in the regular United States Army Air Service

14.
41st Tactical Group
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The 41st Tactical Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 7217th Air Division at Cigli Air Base, Turkey, from 1966 to 1970 the group controlled deployed fighter squadrons. During World War II, the unit was a North American B-25 Mitchell unit serving with Seventh Air Force in the Pacific and it was inactivated in January 1946 at Manila, Philippines. A World War II medium bomber unit, the 41st was cited for heroism in action against the enemy Japanese forces during the Okinawa Campaign. Bearing the burden of land-based aircraft bombardment missions, the 41st Bombardment Group began the first sustained medium bombardment strikes against the islands of Japan. It established its facilities and operated its aircraft under the most hazardous field conditions, the 41st Bombardment Group was activated 15 January 1941 at March Field, California. Its components were the 46th, 47th, and 48th Bombardment Squadrons, attached to the 19th Bombardment Group for training, the 41st received a cadre of 4 officers and 120 enlisted men from the parent organization. During February the Group received additional personnel, and four months after activation it received its first aircraft, in June, two B-18s were assigned to each squadron. Meanwhile, on 14 May the Group moved to Tucson, where it grew to a third of its authorized strength. It was not until after it moved to the Muroc Bombing and Gunnery Range, California, four days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, within a month, a large increment of pilots had arrived from flying school and 45 A-29s had been assigned to the Group. On 26 February, the 41st moved to Hammer Field, Fresno, in addition to training its pilots and ground crews, the Group also assisted in patrolling the coastal waters for enemy submarines. In May, the 46th Bombardment Squadron moved to Alameda, California, later in the same year the 48th moved to Alameda and continued its patrol work. Meanwhile, the composition of the Group had changed, the 6th Reconnaissance Squadron was assigned during March 1942. Headquarters Squadron was disbanded in July 1942, during the following year, in March 1943, the 46th was reassigned, and in October the 820th took its place in the Group. Thus the Group consisted of the 47th, 48th, 396th, by mid-1943 the military situation in the Pacific had changed considerably. The United States was no longer on the defensive, Units which had been employed to defend the west coast might now be diverted to the Pacific to press the attack against the enemy. A projected offensive against the Japanese in the Central Pacific required that the Seventh Air Force be augmented by one heavy, in order to fill one those requirements, the Army Air Force decided to place the 41st under the jurisdiction of the Seventh Air Force. The 41st Bombardment Group moved from California to Hawaii during October 1943, at Oahu Hawaii, the men of the 41st were briefed on how to live in the tropics

15.
North American B-25 Mitchell
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The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American twin-engine, medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was named in honor of Major General William Billy Mitchell, used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theater of World War II and after the war ended many remained in service, operating across four decades. Produced in numerous variants, nearly 10,000 Mitchells rolled from NAA factories and these included a few limited models, such as the United States Marine Corps PBJ-1 patrol bomber and the United States Army Air Forces F-10 reconnaissance aircraft and AT-24 trainers. The Air Corps issued a circular in March 1938 describing the performance they required from the next bombers — a payload of 1,200 lb with a range of 1,200 mi at more than 200 mph and those performance specifications led NAA to submit their NA-40 design. However, the experience from the XB-21 contributed to the design. The single NA-40 built flew first at the end of January 1939 and it went through several modifications to correct problems. These improvements included fitting 1,600 hp Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone radial engines, in March 1939, in March 1939, North American delivered the substantially redesigned and improved NA-40 to the United States Army Air Corps for evaluation. It was in competition with other manufacturers designs but failed to win orders, however, the French had already opted for a revised Douglas 7B. Unfortunately, the NA-40B was destroyed in a crash on 11 April 1939 while undergoing testing, although the crash was not considered due to a fault with the aircraft design, the Army ordered the DB-7 as the A-20. There was no YB-25 for prototype service tests, in September 1939, the Air Corps ordered the NA-62 into production as the B-25, along with the other new Air Corps medium bomber, the Martin B-26 Marauder off the drawing board. The NA-40 lost out to the Douglas A-20 in the competition, but NAA developed a more advanced design, the NA-40B. Early into B-25 production, NAA incorporated a significant redesign to the wing dihedral, the first nine aircraft had a constant-dihedral, meaning the wing had a consistent, upward angle from the fuselage to the wingtip. Flattening the outer wing panels by giving them a slight anhedral angle just outboard of the engine nacelles nullified the problem, less noticeable changes during this period included an increase in the size of the tail fins and a decrease in their inward tilt at their tops. NAA continued design and development in 1940 and 1941, both the B-25A and B-25B series entered AAF service. The B-25B was operational in 1942, combat requirements lead to further developments. Before the year was over, NAA was producing the B-25C, also in 1942, the manufacturer began design work on the cannon-armed B-25G series. The NA-100 of 1943 and 1944 was an interim armament development at the Kansas City complex known as the B-25D2, Similar armament upgrades by U. S-based commercial modification centers involved about half of the B-25G series. Further development led to the B-25H, B-25J, and B-25J2, the gunship design concept dates to late 1942 and NAA sent a field technical representative to the SWPA

16.
Seventh Air Force
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United States Air Forces Korea and USAFK redirect here. The Seventh Air Force is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces and it is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The commands mission is to plan and direct air component operations in the Republic of Korea and in the Northwest Pacific. It was assigned units engaging enemy forces in the Gilbert Islands, Marshall Islands, Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands, and in the last major battle of the Pacific War, the Battle of Okinawa. Returning to its role in Hawaii after the war,7 AF became the primary USAF command. 7 AF is commanded by Lt. Gen. Thomas W. Bergeson, the Vice Commander is Brig Gen Kyle W. Robinson Command Chief Master Sergeant is Anthony W. Johnson. Since then, both as U. S. Air Forces Korea, under the joint U. S and it develops the total air campaign and reinforcement plans for ROK defense and sustains mission readiness of 117 operational units and 8,300 U. S. Air Force personnel. It operates in conjunction with United States Pacific Command, United Nations Command, U. S. Forces, Korea/Combined Forces Command and United States Forces Korea. Airplanes assigned to the 6th Aero Squadron consisted of three Curtiss N-9 seaplanes which were single-engine biplanes carrying a crew of two and capable of a top speed of 70 miles an hour. The first inter-island flight occurred in February 1919 and by 1920 inter-island flights were used for training purposes. Early in 1920 the 4th Observation Squadron arrived at Ford Island, known by then as Luke Field, also by this time, Luke Field was used jointly by the aerial forces of the Army and Navy. The year 1920 marked an advance in aviation in the Islands. The first night flight over Oahu took place on 30 June 1920, also air power began to take its place in the Hawaiian Departments military maneuvers. The first detachment of twenty men started clearing land south of Schofield Barracks for Wheeler Field in February 1922 and this Field was named for Major Sheldon H. Wheeler, who had assumed command of Luke Field in 1920 and was killed in an air accident in 1921. By June 1923, Wheeler boasted six 112x200 foot hangars, three used for housing shops and three others for planes, plus four hangars used as warehouses, and oil tanks holding 50,000 gallons. Tents and huts housed the men, the First commander of Wheeler Field was Major George E. Stratemeyer, who by 1941 was a brigadier general and Acting Chief of the Army Air Corps. The first known reforesting by plane was accomplished for the Department of Agriculture by a plane from Wheeler in 1926, the first non-stop Hawaiian flight from Oakland, California to Wheeler Field was made in June 1927 by L. J. Maitland and A. F. Hegenberger. The famous Dole flight also took place in 1927, with Art Goebel and Lt. W. V. Davis, USN, during the period from 1917 to 1931, the military air component in Hawaii grew to seven tactical squadrons and two service squadrons

17.
Central Pacific Area
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Pacific Ocean Areas was a major Allied military command in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands during the Pacific War, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz of the U. S. Navy headed the command throughout its existence. The vast majority of Allied forces in the theatre were from the U. S. Navy, U. S. Army, however units and/or personnel from New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Fiji and other countries also saw active service. On 24 March 1942, the newly formed British and US Combined Chiefs of Staff issued a directive designating the Pacific theater an area of American strategic responsibility. On 30 March the US Joint Chiefs of Staff divided the Pacific theater into three areas, the Pacific Ocean Areas, the South West Pacific Area, and the Southeast Pacific Area. The JCS designated Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, US strategic bomber forces in the theatre were under the direct control of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. All land forces in Alaska and Canada remained under the control of the US Armys Western Defense Command, the Joint Chiefs further divided the Pacific Ocean Areas into the North, Central and South Pacific Areas. Nimitz designated subordinate commanders for the North and South Pacific Areas but retained the Central Pacific Area, including the Hawaiian Department, from 1942-1943, three Army infantry divisions and two Marine divisions fought in the POA. From 1944-1945, five Army infantry divisions and six Marine divisions served in the POA, among allied land force formations was the 3rd New Zealand Division, which fought in the Solomon Islands campaign during 1943-44. U. S. Army Air Forces operated in the POA under the Seventh, Thirteenth, Allied air forces included units of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. In the separate South West Pacific Area, General Douglas MacArthur assumed command, Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley Vice Adm. /Adm. William Halsey, Jr. Vice Adm. John H. Newton Vice Admiral William L. Calhoun Rear Adm. Robert A. Theobald Rear Adm. Thomas C, kinkaid Vice Adm. Frank J. Fletcher United States Navy in World War II Cressman, Robert J. The Official Chronology of the U. S. Navy in World War II, contemporary History Branch, Naval Historical Center. The War in the Pacific—Strategy and Command, The First Two Years, United States Army In World War II. Center Of Military History, United States Army, Nimitz, Chester W. Admiral, Steele, James M. Captain. Operational Archives, Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington Navy Yard, United States Army In World War II. Washington, DC, Center Of Military History, United States Army, the Barrier and the Javelin, Japanese and Allied Pacific Strategies February to June 1942. The U. S. Army Campaigns of World War II, United States Army Center of Military History

18.
Gilbert Islands
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The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean about halfway between Papua New Guinea and Hawaii. They form the part of Kiribati. The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands are arranged in an approximate north-to-south line, as the crow flies it is approximately 420 nautical miles between the northernmost island, Makin, and the southernmost, Arorae. In a geographical sense, the equator serves as the line between the northern Gilbert Islands and the southern Gilbert Islands. The International Hydrographic Organization considers the Gilberts wholly within the South Pacific Ocean, another method of grouping the Gilbert Islands is by former administrative districts, the Northern, Central, and Southern Gilberts. A group of the southern Gilberts is called the Kingsmill Group, the Gilberts form a continuous chain of seamounts with the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands to the north. In official north-south order, the islands and atolls are, The Northern Gilberts geographically and traditionally encompass Butaritari, Makin, Marakei, Abaiang and they have unique tonal accents with differences particularly noted amongst Butaritari and Makin inhabitants. Traditionally, Butaritari and Makin were ruled by a chief who lived on Butaritari Island, the northern Gilberts have a greater mean rainfall in comparison to the southern and central Gilberts allowing cultivation of a wider crop range. Butaritari and Makin supply most of the bananas sold in Kiribati, the cultivation of taro or babai has been historically easier in the northern Gilberts due to a higher water table and regular rainfall. The Central Gilberts or nuka have traditionally included Maiana, Abemama, Kuria, however, the latter three are considered the main islands that have unique historical and cultural characteristics which distinguish the Central Gilberts from the north and south. Tembinok, the last king of Abemama, Kuria and Aranuka died in the part of the 20th century. The Southern Gilberts include the atolls of Nonouti, South and North Tabiteuea, Beru, Nikunau, Onotoa, Tamana, the islands had been inhabited by Micronesians for several millennia. In 1606 Pedro Fernandes de Queirós sighted Butaritari and Makin, which he named the Buen Viaje Islands, Captain John Byron passed through the islands in 1764 during his circumnavigation of the globe as captain of HMS Dolphin. French captain Louis Duperrey was the first to map the whole Gilbert Islands archipelago and he commanded La Coquille on its circumnavigation of the earth. Two ships of the United States Exploring Expedition, USS Peacock and USS Flying Fish, under the command of Captain Hudson, while in the Gilberts, they devoted considerable time to mapping and charting reefs and anchorages. A British protectorate was first proclaimed over the Gilberts by Captain Davis of HMS Royalist on 27 May 1892, British official Arthur Mahaffy visited the Islands in 1909. He noted that the villages are kept in order and the roads are scrupulously clean. A hospital was on island, as well

19.
Okinawa Prefecture
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The larger are mostly high islands and the smaller ones are mostly coral islands. The largest of the islands is Okinawa, the climate of the islands ranges from humid subtropical climate in the north to tropical rainforest climate in the south. Precipitation is very high, and is affected by the rainy season, the islands beyond the Tokara Strait are characterized by their coral reefs. The Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, and Yaeyama Islands have a native population collectively called the Ryukyuan people, the varied Ryukyuan languages are traditionally spoken on these islands, and the major islands have their own distinct languages. In modern times, the Japanese language is the language of the islands. The northern islands are called the Satsunan Islands, while the southern part of the chain are called the Ryukyu Islands in Japanese. Following are the grouping and names used by the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department of the Japan Coast Guard, the islands are listed from north to south where possible. Nansei Islands Satsunan Islands Ōsumi Islands with, Tanegashima, Yaku, Kuchinoerabu, Mageshima in the North-Eastern Group and they agreed on February 15,2010, to use Amami-guntō for the Amami Islands, prior to that, Amami-shotō had also been used. The English and Japanese uses of the term Ryukyu differ, in English, the term Ryukyu may apply to the entire chain of islands, while in Japanese Ryukyu usually refers only to the islands that were previously part of the Ryūkyū Kingdom after 1624. Nansei-shotō is the name for the whole island chain in Japanese. Japan has used the name on nautical charts since 1907, based on the Japanese charts, the international chart series uses Nansei Shoto. Nansei literally means southwest, the direction of the chain from mainland Japan. Some humanities scholars prefer the uncommon term Ryūkyū-ko for the island chain. In geology, however, the Ryukyu Arc includes subsurface structures such as the Okinawa Trough, the name of Ryūkyū is strongly associated with the Ryūkyū Kingdom, a kingdom that originated from the Okinawa Islands and subjected the Sakishima and Amami Islands. The name is considered outdated in Japanese although some entities of Okinawa still bear the name. In Japanese, the Ryukyu Islands cover only the Okinawa, Miyako, the northern half of the island chain is referred to as the Satsunan Islands in Japanese, as opposed to Northern Ryukyu Islands in English. Humanities scholars generally agree that the Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, there is, however, no good name for the group. The native population do not have their own name, since they do not recognize themselves as a group this size, Ryukyu is the principal candidate because it roughly corresponds to the maximum extent of the Ryūkyū Kingdom

20.
Geography of Taiwan
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Taiwan is an island in East Asia, located some 180 kilometres off the southeastern coast of mainland China across the Taiwan Strait. It has an area of 35,883 km2 and spans the Tropic of Cancer, the East China Sea lies to the north, the Philippine Sea to the east, the Luzon Strait directly to the south and the South China Sea to the southwest. There are several peaks over 3,500 m, the highest being Yu Shan at 3,952 metres, the tectonic boundary that formed these ranges is still active, and the island experiences many earthquakes, a few of them highly destructive. There are also many active volcanoes in the Taiwan Straits. The climate ranges from tropical in the south to subtropical in the north, the island is struck by an average of four typhoons in each year. The eastern mountains are forested and home to a diverse range of wildlife. The total area of the island is 36,193 km2 and it has a coastline of 1,139 km. The ROC claims an economic zone of 200 nmi and a territorial sea of 12 nmi. The main island of the archipelago is the island of Taiwan, the central point of the island is the Geographic Center of Taiwan in Puli Township, Nantou County. The southernmost point of the island is the Taiwan Southernmost Point in Hengchun Township, the island of Taiwan is separated from the southeast coast of China by the Taiwan Strait, which ranges from 220 km at its widest point to 130 km at its narrowest. Part of the shelf, the Strait is no more than 100 m deep. To the south, the island of Taiwan is separated from the Philippine island of Luzon by the 250 km -wide Luzon Strait, the South China Sea lies to the southwest, the East China Sea to the north, and the Philippine Sea to the east. The island of Taiwan was formed approximately 4 to 5 million years ago at a convergent boundary between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate. In a boundary running the length of the island and continuing southwards in the Luzon Volcanic Arc, most of the island comprises a huge fault block tilted to the west. The western part of the island, and much of the central range, in the northeast of the island, and continuing eastwards in the Ryukyu Volcanic Arc, the Philippine Sea Plate slides under the Eurasian Plate. The tectonic boundary remains active, and Taiwan experiences 15,000 to 18,000 earthquakes each year, of which 800 to 1,000 are noticed by people. The most catastrophic recent earthquake was the magnitude-7.3 Chi-Chi earthquake, on 4 March 2010 at about 01,20 UTC, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit southwestern Taiwan in the mountainous area of Kaohsiung County. Another major earthquake occurred on 6 February 2016, with a magnitude of 6.4, Tainan was damaged the most, with 117 deaths, most of them caused by the collapse of a 17-story apartment building

21.
Operation Downfall
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Operation Downfall was the codename for the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of Japan near the end of World War II. The planned operation was abandoned when Japan surrendered following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The operation had two parts, Operations Olympic and Coronet, later, in the spring of 1946, Operation Coronet was the planned invasion of the Kantō Plain, near Tokyo, on the Japanese island of Honshu. Airbases on Kyūshū captured in Operation Olympic would allow land-based air support for Operation Coronet, if Downfall had taken place, it would have been the largest amphibious operation in history. The Japanese planned an all-out defense of Kyūshū, with left in reserve for any subsequent defense operations. Casualty predictions varied widely, but were extremely high, depending on the degree to which Japanese civilians would have resisted the invasion, estimates ran up into the millions for Allied casualties. Leahy, and Generals of the Army George Marshall and Hap Arnold, at the time, MacArthur was also being considered for promotion to a special super rank of General of the Armies, so as to be granted operational authority over other five-star officers. However, the proposal to promote MacArthur was only at the level of discussion by the time World War II ended. Once the atomic bomb became available, General Marshall envisioned using it to support the invasion if sufficient numbers could be produced in time, throughout the Pacific War, the Allies were unable to agree on a single Commander-in-Chief. A unified command was deemed necessary for an invasion of Japan, interservice rivalry over who it should be was so serious that it threatened to derail planning. Ultimately, the Navy partially conceded, and MacArthur was to be given command of all forces. The primary considerations that the planners had to deal with were time, prior to the Quebec Conference,1943, a joint British-American planning team produced a plan which did not call for an invasion of the Japanese home islands until 1947–48. The American Joint Chiefs of Staff believed that prolonging the war to such an extent was dangerous for national morale, instead, at the Quebec conference, the Combined Chiefs of Staff agreed that Japan should be forced to surrender not more than one year after Germanys surrender. The United States Navy urged the use of a blockade and airpower to bring about Japans capitulation, the Army, on the other hand, argued that such a strategy could prolong the war indefinitely and expend lives needlessly, and therefore that an invasion was necessary. They supported mounting a large-scale thrust directly against the Japanese homeland, physically, Japan made an imposing target, distant from other landmasses and with very few beaches geographically suitable for sea-borne invasion. Only Kyūshū and the beaches of the Kantō plain were realistic invasion zones, the Allies decided to launch a two-stage invasion. Operation Olympic would attack southern Kyūshū, airbases would be established, which would give cover for Operation Coronet, the attack on Tokyo Bay. While the geography of Japan was known, the US military planners had to estimate the forces that they would face

22.
Altus Air Force Base
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Altus Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 4 miles east-northeast of Altus, Oklahoma. The host unit at Altus AFB is the 97th Air Mobility Wing, assigned to the Nineteenth Air Force of the Air Education, Altus AFB was established in 1943 as Altus Army Airfield. The 97 AMW commander is Colonel Todd A. Hohn, provides air traffic control and weather forecasting for flying operations. Supports worldwide USAF taskings with deployment ready personnel and equipment, 97th Medical Group Ensures maximum wartime readiness and combat capability by promoting the health, safety and morale of active duty personnel. Staffs, trains, mobilizes and provides services in support of contingency operations worldwide. Develops and operates a prevention-oriented, cost-effective managed healthcare system for over 9,500 people, between 1945 and 1953, Altus served as a scrap yard for hundreds of World War II era military aircraft. In 1945 the famous B-17F Memphis Belle was discovered at Altus awaiting disposal, the base only sat idle for a few years. The onset of the Korean War in June 1950 created the need for men to fly. During the early years of the conflict, many World War II airfields were examined for reactivation, on 1 August 1953, Altus Air Force Base was reactivated as a training base for transport aircraft. During the 1950s, the base underwent many changes and changed hands from TAC to the Strategic Air Command, later that year, on 18 November, the 96th Bombardment Wing, Medium arrived and began operations with three bomber squadrons and one air refueling squadron. The squadrons eventually flew the first all jet-engined bomber, the B-47 Stratojet and the KC-97 Stratofreighter, by the end of the decade, both of these aircraft would be replaced by aircraft still in the Air Force inventory, the KC-135 Stratotanker and the B-52 Stratofortress. The KC-135 was the first all jet-engined air-refueling aircraft and the B-52 still remains the backbone of the USAF bomber fleet, when the 96th BW moved to Dyess AFB, Texas, the 11th Bombardment Wing activated and stood on alert during the Cold War. June 1961 witnessed the activation of twelve Atlas “F” intercontinental ballistic missile sites within a 40-mile radius of the base, controlled by the 577th Strategic Missile Squadron, the missiles sat inside a silo, constructed underground with a launch facility, and manned around the clock. The missile silos became operational on 10 October 1962, but the activation would be short-lived, by April 1965, the Atlas missile was outdated and was phased out of the national strategic defense plan. In August 1966, the 4th Mobile Communications Group transferred from Hunter AFB, the units mission consisted of providing mobile and transportable communication services, aiding navigation and air traffic control throughout the world. In 1967, the Air Force began searching for a base that could handle the training for its strategic airlift fleet, the C-141 Starlifter and its newest and largest transport aircraft, again, Oklahoma proved to be well suited for the mission. By the start of the 1970s, Altus AFB had three aircraft type/models assigned, KC-135s, C-141s, and C-5s, for the KC-135 aircraft at Altus still under SACs control, the USAF activated the 340th Air Refueling Wing, which continued to operate the bases KC-135s. The post Cold War environment brought many changes to Altus AFB, on 1 June 1992, the Air Force reorganized and the Military Airlift Command disestablished

23.
Northeast Air Command
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The Northeast Air Command was a short-lived organization in the United States Air Force tasked with the operation and defense of air bases in Greenland, Labrador and Newfoundland. It was formed in 1950 from the facilities of the United States established during World War II in Northeast Canada, the Northeast Air Command was originally formed from the World War II facilities of the United States Army Newfoundland Base Command, which formed on 15 January 1941. On 2 September 1940, the negotiations were completed, in exchange for the destroyers, the U. S. got ninety-nine-year leases for bases in Dominion of Newfoundland, Bermuda, British Guiana, Antigua, Trinidad, St. Lucia, Jamaica and the Bahamas. The detailed lease agreements were not signed until March 1941, but by that time, American troops were already in Newfoundland. The first United States troops arrived in Newfoundland on 29 January 1941, the first base occupied was a temporary tent camp near St. Johns called Camp Alexander. Nearby Fort Pepperrell received its first troops in November 1941, General Hugh A. Drum, based at Fort Jay in New York City. The NBC was under the control of US Army General Headquarters for U. S. Troops in Newfoundland in the defense of the northeastern seaboard through First Army/Eastern Defense Command, Newfoundland Base Command was headquartered at Pepperrell Air Force Base, St. Johns Newfoundland. The first USAAF presence in Newfoundland was in May 1941 when six B-18 Bolos from the First Air Force 21st Reconnaissance Squadron arrived at RCAF Station Gander, both Canada and the United States built radar stations in Newfoundland. Beginning in the spring of 1944, the American stations were phased over to the RCAF so that American personnel could be moved to more active theaters. With United States bases were under construction in Newfoundland, a number of sites for airfields in Greenland were made in late 1940. Greenland being a Danish colony with Denmark under the occupation of Nazi Germany at the time, the United States, nor Canada or Great Britain desired any Nazi facilities or armed forces in Greenland to obtain weather data. A mixed British-Norwegian landing party seized a supply of gasoline, dismantled several radio stations. This was in late August or early September 1940, a few weeks afterward the British intercepted another vessel off the coast of Greenland with about fifty Germans, some of them meteorologists, on board. All this activity at the top of the Western Hemisphere was a source of concern to the United States. The agreement recognized that as a result of the European war there was danger that Greenland may be converted into a point of aggression against nations of the American Continent by Nazi Germany. $5 million in funds allocated for constructing the bases acquired from the British in the Bases for Destroyers agreement was re-allocated to Greenland. On 30 June construction of the first U. S. Army and Navy base in Greenland, Greenland Base Command was established on 1 September 1941 headquarters at Bluie West I was established to take charge of the U. S. forces and facilities being planned

24.
Alaskan Air Command
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Alaskan Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command originally established in 1942 under the United States Army Air Forces. Its mission was to organize and administer the air defense system of Alaska, exercise control of all active measures. In addition, the also supported Strategic Air Command elements operating through. It was redesignated Eleventh Air Force on 9 August 1990 and, concurrently, established on 18 December 1945 the end of World War II, assuming jurisdiction of former Eleventh Air Force, assets in the Alaska Territory. Headquartered at Davis Army Airfield on Adak, the mission of AAC was the consolidation of wartime Army Air Forces in Alaska. Its headquarters was moved back to Anchorage, and was re-established at Elmendorf Field on 1 October 1946. The 57th FG was equipped with 3 squadrons of very-long range P-51H Mustangs, originally designed for missions of B-29 Superfortresses during the war from the Mariana Islands to Japan. Two of its squadrons the 64th and 66th were located at Shemya, the 449th Fighter Squadron was activated at Davis AFB on 1 September 1947. It was equipped with P-61 Black Widows and assigned directly to Headquarters, the only other flying unit was the 54th Troop Carrier Squadron at Elmendorf Field. It was believed that Alaska was threatened more by Soviet bomber attacks across the polar regions, shortly after the Japanese Capitulation, most airfields in the Aleutians were placed in a standby status. Headquarters, Alaskan Air Command was moved to Elmendorf Field on 1 October 1946, the Aleutian Sector was inactivated on 1 July 1947. Following the National Security Act of 1947, the United States Air Force assumed control of the original Army Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Field, Elmendorf officially became an Air Force base 28 March. With tight Air Force budgets in the late 1940s, Amchatka AFB was placed in caretaker status in February 1949, Cape and Thornborough AFB were inactivated in January 1950, avis AFB was transferred to the Department of the Navy. With the exception of Shemya AFB, the Air Force had no bases in the Aleutian Islands. Following the Armistice in Korea, Shimeya was declared surplus and inactivated on 1 July 1954, see also, Kee Bird, Boeing RC-135 Strategic Air Command established a significant presence in Alaska in the late 1940s, initially as a result of its strategic reconnaissance mission. The first efforts were in photo-reconnaissance and mapping, with very long-range B-29 Superfortress reconnaissance aircraft based at Ladd AFB, with growing tensions in US-Soviet relations, SAC explored the possibility of attacking Soviet targets via great circle routes over the North Pole as part of Project Nanook. Ladd AFB, however, due to the geography of its location, was unsuitable for SACs postwar B-36 Peacemaker bomber as well as the new jet B-47 Stratojet. Ladd, being sited next to the Chena River, could not have its runway expanded to meet the requirements for new aircraft

25.
Guam
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Guam is an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, Guam is one of five American territories with a civilian government. The capital city is Hagåtña and the most populous city is Dededo, in 2015,161,785 people resided on Guam. Guamanians are American citizens by birth, Guam has an area of 210 sq mi and a population density of 770/sq mi. It is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands and the largest island in Micronesia, among its municipalities, Mongmong-Toto-Maite has the highest density at 3, 691/sq mi, whereas Inarajan and Umatac have the lowest density at 119/sq mi. The highest point is Mount Lamlam at 406 meters above sea level, the Chamorros, Guams indigenous people, settled the island approximately 4,000 years ago. Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was the first European to visit the island on March 6,1521, Guam was colonized in 1668 with settlers, like Diego Luis de San Vitores, a Catholic missionary. Between the 16th century and the 18th century, Guam was an important stopover for the Spanish Manila Galleons, during the Spanish–American War, the United States captured Guam on June 21,1898. Under the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Guam to the United States on December 10,1898, Guam is among the seventeen Non-Self-Governing Territories of the United Nations. Before World War II, Guam and three other territories – American Samoa, Hawaii, and the Philippines – were the only American jurisdictions in the Pacific Ocean. On December 7,1941, hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Guam was captured by the Japanese, during the occupation, Guamanians were subjected to beheadings, forced labor, rape, and torture. Guam endured hostilities when American forces recaptured the island on July 21,1944, since the 1960s, the economy is supported by two industries, tourism and the United States Armed Forces. The original inhabitants of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are believed to be descendants of Austronesian people originating from Southeast Asia as early as 2000 BC and they evolved into the Chamorro people. The ancient-Chamorro society had four classes, chamorri, matua, achaot, the matua were located in the coastal villages, which meant they had the best access to fishing grounds, whereas the manachang were located in the interior of the island. Matua and manachang rarely communicated with other, and matua often used achaot as intermediaries. There were also makåhna, skilled in healing and medicine, belief in spirits of ancient Chamorros called Taotao mona still persists as a remnant of pre-European culture. Their society was organized along matrilineal clans, Latte stones are stone pillars that are found only in the Mariana Islands, and, they are a recent development in Pre-Contact Chamorro society. The latte-stone was used as a foundation on which thatched huts were built, Latte stones consist of a base shaped from limestone called the haligi and with a capstone, or tåsa, made either from a large brain coral or limestone, placed on top

26.
Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter
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The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter is a United States strategic tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, the KC-97 Stratofreighter was an aerial refueling tanker variant of the C-97 Stratofreighter, greatly modified with all the necessary tanks, plumbing, and a flying boom. The cavernous upper deck was capable of accommodating oversize cargo accessed through a very large right-side door, in addition, transferrable jet fuel was contained in tanks on the lower deck. Both decks were heated and pressurized for high altitude operations, note, Occasionally the KC-97 has been quoted as Stratotanker. However, all reputable sources refer to the KC-97 as Stratofreighter and this includes both Boeing and the USAF themselves. The USAF began operating the KC-97 in 1950 and it purchased a total of 811 KC-97s from Boeing, as opposed to only 74 of the C-97 cargo version. The KC-97 carried aviation gasoline for its own piston engines but it carried jet fuel for its refueling mission, however, it was able to offload its aviation gas to a receiver in an emergency in a procedure known as a SAVE. These tankers were vitally important to the world-wide Boeing B-47 Stratojet strategic operations, an example was the support of Arctic reconnaissance flights from Thule Air Base. While it was a tanker, the KC-97s slow speed. B-52s typically lowered their flaps and rear landing gear to slow the aircraft enough to refuel from the KC-97, in addition, a typical B-52 refueling engagement profile would involve a descent that allowed the aircraft pair to maintain a higher airspeed. In the early 1960s, the Tactical Air Command added General Electric J47 jet pods from retired KB-50 tankers to produce the KC-97L, the jet pods increased performance and made the KC-97 more compatible with jet aircraft. In 1956, SAC began phasing out the KC-97 in favor of the KC-135, KC-97s continued operating with Tactical Air Command, the Air Force Reserve, and the Air National Guard. Most KC-97 were finally retired completely in 1978, when the Texas Air National Guard and Utah Air National Guard exchanged their KC-97Ls for C-130s and KC-135s, source, AIRTime KC-97A Three C-97As were converted into aerial refueling tankers with rear loading door removed and a flight refueling boom added. After the design was proven, they were converted back into the standard C-97A, kC-97E aerial refueling tankers with rear loading doors permanently closed,60 built. Some were later converted into transports as the C-97E, KC-97F 3800hp R-4360-59B engines and minor changes,159 built. Some were later converted into transport as the C-97F, KC-97G Dual-role aerial refueling tankers/cargo transportation aircraft. KC-97G models carried underwing fuel tanks, eC-97G ELINT conversion of three KC-97Gs. 53-106 was operated by the CIA for covert ELINT operations in the West Berlin Air Corridor, c-97G135 KC-97Gs converted to transports

27.
11th Wing
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The 11th Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force District of Washington. It is stationed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland where it is the host unit, the 11th Wing is one of the largest wings in the Air Force. It is known as “The Chief’s Own, ” an honorific originally intended to reflect that the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force personally created the organization. The 11th Wing traces its roots back to the 11th Observation Group which was established on 1 October 1933, the group was redesignated as the 11 Bombardment Group on 1 January 1938, although not activated until 1 February 1940. Later that year it became a bombardment unit. The group fought in combat in the Pacific Theater of Operations with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, the 11th Bombardment Group earned a Navy Presidential Unit Citation for its actions in the South Pacific from 31 July to 30 November 1942. It participated in the Central Pacific, Air Offensive, Japan, Guadalcanal, Northern Solomons, Eastern Mandates, Western Pacific, Ryukyus, in 1978 the group was reactivated as the 11th Strategic Group, managing forward deployed Strategic Air Command aircraft at RAF Fairford, England until 1990. It also had SM-65 Atlas missiles assigned during the early 1960s, in 1968 the wing became the 11th Air Refueling Wing, retaining only its tankers until it was inactivated in 1969. In 1982 the wing was consolidated with the 11th Strategic Group, the consolidated unit has served in its current mission since 1994, first as the 11th Support Wing and then as the 11th Wing The commander of the 11th Wing is Colonel Bradley T. Hoagland. Its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Vance C, the Chiefs Own provides base operating and logistic support in the National Capital Region. It also provides United States Air Force ceremonial, music, protocol, the 11th Wing was first constituted as the 11th Observation Group 1 October 1933, and redesignated as the 11 Bombardment Group on 1 January 1938, but was not activated until 1 February 1940. In November, it became a bombardment group, acquiring its first 21 B-17 Flying Fortresss in May 1941. Nine were sent to the Philippines in September 1941 and many of the remainder were destroyed in the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the 11th Bombardment Group was assigned to the Seventh Air Force in February 1942 and trained with the B-18 Bolo. Its aircraft flew patrols and search missions off Hawaii after the Japanese attack, the group, now fully equipped with new B-17s, moved to the Pekoa Airfield, Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides in July 1942 and became part of Thirteenth Air Force. It continued to attack Japanese airfields, installations, and shipping in the Solomon Islands, the group returned to Hawaii where it was again assigned to Seventh Air Force and trained with B-24 Liberators. Combat operations resumed in November 1943 with the participation in the Allied offensive through the Gilberts, Marshalls, and Marianas, while operating from Funafuti, Tarawa, in October 1944 the Group moved to Guam and attacked shipping and airfields in the Volcano and Bonin Islands. After the war, the unit flew reconnaissance and surveillance missions over China and its aircraft also ferried liberated prisoners of war from Okinawa to Luzon. The Group remained in the theater as part of Far East Air Forces but had no personnel assigned after mid-December 1945 when the group was transferred to the Philippines

28.
11th Air Refueling Squadron
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The 11th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 340th Air Refueling Wing, stationed at Altus AFB and it was inactivated on 1 October 1994. During World War II the squadron trained crews and technicians for photographic reconnaissance and mapping and it won numerous wards for its operational performance, including the Saunders Trophy for Outstanding Air Refueling Unit in 1970 and 1971. It was upgraded in 1965 to the KC-135 Stratotanker jet, about one-half of squadron personnel formed a rear echelon at Altus AFB. The forward echelon manned the 4101st Air Refueling Squadron, Provisional, some 11th ARS personnel were returning to Altus AFB on 4 November 1972, but some of the squadron remained on temporary duty in SEA. By January 1973 about half of the 11th’s KC-135s had returned and by June 1973 all aircraft, the 11th continued its normal SEA support as well as its many other global commitments. The squadron refueled its first C-5 Galaxy on 1 May 1974, the new group was assigned to the 19th Air Division and the 11th to the group. On 19 September 1985 the 11th Air Refueling Squadron was consolidated with the 11th Combat Mapping Squadron and this action was directed by Department of the Air Force Letter DAF/MPM 662q Attachment 1,19 September 1985. The Consolidated Unit will retain the Designation of 11th Air Refueling Squadron, the squadron was inactivated in 1994 as part of the drawdown of the USAF after the end of the Cold War. afhra. af. mil/. Maurer, Maurer, ed. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, washington, DC, Office of Air Force History. Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977, washington, DC, Office of Air Force History

29.
Dover Air Force Base
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Dover Air Force Base or Dover AFB is a United States Air Force base located 2 miles southeast of the city of Dover, Delaware. It was previously the base to solely operate the massive C-5 Galaxy. The 436 AW has two flying squadrons, and the 512 AW has two Air Force Reserve flying squadrons. It was also a site for identifying the remains of military personnel killed in the 9/11 attacks. Two sections of the 436th Aerial Port Squadron warehouse collapsed on February 18,2003, no one was injured in the collapse that caused more than an estimated $1 million in damages. The damage covered two of the six cargo processing bays in the facility, Dover AFB is also home to the Air Mobility Command Museum. Construction of Municipal Airport, Dover Airdrome began in March 1941 and it was converted to a U. S. Army Air Corps airfield just weeks after the December 7,1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. It was renamed Dover Army Airbase on April 8,1943, *Dover Subbase on June 6,1943, with the establishment of the United States Air Force on September 18,1947, the facility was renamed Dover Air Force Base on January 13,1948. * Was a subbase of Camp Springs AAF, Maryland, June 6,1943 – April 15,1944, once the airport came under military control an immediate construction program began to turn the civil airport into a military airfield. Construction involved runways and airplane hangars, with three runways, several taxiways and a large parking apron and a control tower. Several large hangars were also constructed, buildings were ultimately utilitarian and quickly assembled. Most base buildings, not meant for use, were constructed of temporary or semi-permanent materials. Initially under USAAC, the name of the facility was Municipal Airport, Dover Airdrome, on 8 April 1943, the name of the airfield was changed to Dover Army Air Base. The antisubmarine mission ended on 6 June and construction crews moved back to the base for a major upgrading project that lengthened the runway to 7,000 feet. During the construction period and continuing into June 1944, Dover AAB became a sub-base of Camp Springs Army Airfield, full operational capability was restored to Dover in September, and seven P-47 Thunderbolt squadrons arrived for training in preparation for eventual involvement in the European Theater. The 83d Fighter Group was assigned to Dover as the Operational Training Unit, the 83d was redesignated the 125th Base Unit on 10 April 1944 with little change in its mission. It was further redesignated as the 125th Army Air Force base Unit on 15 September 1944, in 1944 the Air Technical Service Command chose Dover as a site to engineer, develop, and conduct classified air-launched rocket tests. The information collected during these experiments resulted in the deployment of air-to-surface rockets in both the European and Pacific combat theaters

30.
Fairchild Air Force Base
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Fairchild Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base, located approximately 12 miles southwest of Spokane, Washington. The host unit at Fairchild is the 92d Air Refueling Wing assigned to the Air Mobility Commands Eighteenth Air Force, Fairchild AFB was established in 1942 as the Spokane Air Depot. It is named in honor of General Muir S. Fairchild, a World War I aviator, he was the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force at the time of his death. The 92d Air Refueling Wing is commanded by Colonel Charles Brian McDaniel and its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Christian Pugh. Fairchild is home to a variety of units and missions. Most prominent is its air refueling mission, with two wings, one active, the 92d Air Refueling Wing, and one national guard, the 141st Air Refueling Wing, both flying the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. Other units here include the Air Force Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape school, medical detachments, a weapons squadron and the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency. Over 5,200 active duty Air Force, Air National Guard, Fairchilds annual economic impact on the Spokane community is approximately $427 million, constituting 13 percent of the local economy. 92nd Air Refueling Wing, 92d Operations Group The 92nd OG provides air mobility for America through air refueling, airlift, 92d Maintenance Group Provides maintenance support to world-class aircraft and equipment. 92d Mission Support Group Provides the foundation for support and morale of Fairchild, born in Bellingham, he graduated from Olympia High School and attended the University of Washington in Seattle. Fairchild received his wings and commission in 1918, and served as a pilot during World War I and he held various air staff positions during World War II and received his fourth star in 1948, and died on 17 March 1950 while serving as USAF Vice Chief of Staff. Today, Fairchild’s aircraft and personnel make up the backbone of the Air Force’s tanker fleet on the west coast, Fairchild’s location,12 miles west of Spokane, resulted from a competition with the cities of Seattle and Everett in western Washington. As an added incentive to the War Department, many Spokane businesses, at a cost of more than $125,000, these people bought 1,400 acres and presented the title to the War Department in January 1942. That year, the government designated $14 million to more land. Spokane Air Depot was served by a connection to the Great Northern Railway. From 1942 until 1946, the served as a repair depot for damaged aircraft returning from the Pacific Theater. In the summer of 1946, the base was transferred to the Strategic Air Command, beginning in the summer of 1947, the 92nd and 98th Bomb Groups arrived. Both of the units flew the most advanced bomber of the day, in January 1948, the base received the second of its three official names, Spokane Air Force Base

31.
154th Wing
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The 154th Wing is a unit of the Hawaii Air National Guard, stationed at Hickam Field, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Honolulu, Hawaii. If activated to service, the Wing is gained by Pacific Air Forces. The 154th Wing is the operational component of the Hawaii Air National Guard. The 154th is both a wing, consisting of Air Supremacy, Airlift, Radar, and Air Refueling squadrons. 150th Aircraft Control and Warning Flight 169 ACWS OL-AA 22°08′52″N 159°38′42″W Located atop Mount Kokee, designated as Joint Surveillance System station H-02, AN/FPS-117v4 Radar, Joint-use site between HI ANG and FAA. The 199th FIS becoming the flying squadron. Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 157th Headquarters, 157th Material Squadron, 157th Combat Support Squadron, the 199th FIG F-86L Sabre Interceptors were upgraded to F-102A Delta Dagger interceptors, the mission of the 154th FIW is the air defense of Hawaii. This was in line with the policy of equipping ANG units with one generation of aircraft behind the active-duty Air Defense Command forces, for the next sixteen years, the 157th FIG operated the Delta Daggers establishing an excellent safety record. In December 1961, The new Hawaii Air National Guard complex was completed and consisted of 60 acres, the land was originally part of Fort Kamehameha and had been acquired in 1960 by permit from the U. S. Army to the Hawaii ANG. The 157th flew the Delta Dagger throughout the 1960s, and although the Hawaii ANG was not activated during the Vietnam War, several of its pilots volunteered for combat duty in Southeast Asia. The group was the longest user of the interceptor, being equipped with the F-102 long after most of its Air National Guard counterparts were upgraded to the F-106. The last F-102A finally left ANG service in October 1976, when the 199th FIS of the Hawaii ANG traded in their Delta Daggers for F-4C Phantom II, the F-4C was a workhorse tactical fighter-bomber during the Vietnam War, and could also be used as an effective interceptor. The Hawaii ANG used the Phantom in both roles, employing it during training exercises with Army and Marine units in ground exercises, on 3 November 1978, the 154th became a Composite Group with the addition of a C-130A Hercules and a C-7A Caribou flight. After a decade flying the F-4C, the 157th received F-15A Eagles in 1987 along with a twin-seat F-15B trainer as part of the retirement of the F-4 from the Air Force inventory. The F-15As were received from the 21st Tactical Fighter Wing, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, the Eagles received from Alaska had been upgraded though the F-15 Multi-Stage Improvement Program and were used in an air defense mission, which the Hawaii ANG had taken over. In mid-1991, early F-15C versions were received, and the Hawaii ANG operated both the A and C models of the Eagle for the two decades. In 1989 with inactivation of the PACAF 326th Air Division, the 154th Composite Group took over the air defense Radar mission in Hawaii and these radar sites are linked to the NORAD Hawaii Region Air Operations Center at Wheeler Army Airfield, Oahu, 21°28′57″N 158°02′45″W. With these two sites, 24/7 air surveillance of the Hawaiian island chain is provided, in March 1992, with the end of the Cold War, the 154th adopted the Air Force Objective Organization plan, and the unit was re-designated as the 154th Group

32.
96th Test Wing
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The 96th Test Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Test Center of Air Force Materiel Command at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing was activated at Eglin in 1994 as the 96th Air Base Wing, the headquarters for all units on Eglin. In 2012, it absorbed the mission and resources of the 46th Test Wing and added the mission of testing and evaluating weapons, navigation and guidance systems and command, the wings first predecessor was organized during World War II as the 96th Bombardment Group. After training in the United States, the group flew Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses from England, the group led the first shuttle mission to Regensburg on 17 August 1943. The group earned two Distinguished Unit Citations for its combat performance, after VE Day, the group returned to the United States and was inactivated. The group was active in the Air Force Reserve from 1947 until 1949. In 1957 the wing moved to Dyess Air Force Base, Texas where it converted to the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress in 1963, the wing also operated air refueling aircraft, and during the early 1960s was assigned a squadron of intercontinental ballistic missiles. In 1984, the World War II group was consolidated with the wing, the 96th Test Wing performs developmental test and evaluation for Air Force weapons while also providing support for all other units on Eglin Air Force Base as the installation host wing. Eglin is the Department of Defenses largest Air Force installation, supported units include three wings, the Armament Systems Directorate, nine operating locations, five detachments and more than 25 associate units. 96th Maintenance Group The group manages and maintains 41 modified test aircraft, 96th Test Group The group is located at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. It also deploys combat ready forces in support of contingency operations. 96th Medical Group The group manages and provides care for 83,000 eligible beneficiaries. It operates a teaching hospital with graduate level programs in family practice, general dentistry. After moving to Gowen Field, Idaho the group received its initial cadre, the group trained at various bases in the northwestern United States. In November 1942 the group moved to Pocatello Army Air Base, Idaho, oTUs were oversized parent units that provided cadres to form satellite groups. In early 1943, the 96th relocated to Pyote Army Air Base, Texas, in April 1943 the group began its overseas movement. The group arrived at RAF Grafton Underwood England in May 1943, the group was assigned to the 45th Combat Bombardment Wing of the 3d Bombardment Division. The group commenced operations on 14 May with an attack on Kortryk

33.
303d Aeronautical Systems Wing
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The 303d Aeronautical Systems Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Material Command Aeronautical Systems Center. It is stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio as a tenant unit, the wing is the successor organization to the World War II Eighth Air Force 303d Bombardment Group. The group was one of the first VIII Bomber Command B-17 Flying Fortress units in England, the Hells Angels were the first B-17 group to complete 25 combat missions in June 1943, going on to fly more than 300 combat missions, more than any other group. The 359th BS B-17F 41-24605 Knock-out Dropper was the first aircraft in Eighth Air Force to complete 50, the 303 ASW has responsibility for program execution to develop, acquire, field and modernize capabilities, and support for life-cycle management for the United States and coalition partners. Deployed to Sidi Slimane AB, French Morocco,5 Oct-6 Nov 1952, in the early 1960s, the B-47 was considered to be reaching obsolescence, and was being phased out of SACs strategic arsenal. Began sending its stratojets to AMARC in 1963, the last being retired in 1964, Wing was inactivated on 15 June 1964 after the last B-47 was retired. Reactivated as a BGM-109G Gryphon Cruise Missile wing in August 1986, maintained 64 operational missiles in a combat-ready state. Inactivated in January 1989 as a result of the INF treaty, activated on 18 Jan 2005 Redesignated 303d Aeronautical Systems Wing on 14 Jul 2006. Inactivated on 1 Jul 2010 as it was re-stood up as ASC/WI on the same date, Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories, 1947–1977. Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama, Office of Air Force History,1984, the Short, Happy Life of the Glick-Em Wright-Patterson AFB Home Page 303d Aeronautical Systems Wing Factsheet USAF Engineers website

34.
453rd Operations Group
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The 453rd Operations Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was to the 43d Air Refueling Wing, stationed at Souda Bay and it was activated as a temporary MAJCOM air refueling organization flying KC-135 Stratotankers as part of Operation Restore Hope. During World War II, its unit, the 453rd Bombardment Group was an Eighth Air Force B-24 Liberator heavy bombardment group stationed in England. Its 733d Bombardment Squadron completed 82 consecutive missions without a loss, james Stewart, of film fame, was Group Operations Officer from March 31 to July 1,1944. Constituted as the 453rd Bombardment Group on 14 May 1943, it was activated on 1 June 1943, moved to RAF Old Buckenham in East Anglia, December 1943 – January 1944, and assigned to Eighth Air Force. The group was assigned to the 2nd Combat Bombardment Wing, the 453rd BG entered combat on 5 February 1944 with an attack against an airfield at Tours. Throughout combat, the unit served chiefly as a strategic bombardment organization, the group took part in the concentrated attack against the German aircraft industry during Big Week, 20–25 February 1944. Besides strategic operations, the group engaged in support and interdictory missions, attacked enemy troops in support of the Allied breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July. Bombed German communications during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 – January 1945, james Jimmy Stewart, the Hollywood movie star, was Group Operations Officer at Old Buckenham during the spring of 1944. The actor Walter Matthau also served in the group as a radioman-gunner, the 453rd Bomb Group flew its last combat mission in April. Initially it was prepared for redeployment to the Pacific theatre using B-29 Superfortresses. However hostilities in Europe had ceased before the group had time to start its movement and it returned to New Castle AAFld, Delaware on 9 May 1945 and was inactivated on 12 September 1945. The plans are for the erection of two Nissen Huts, one of which house an items described as having the potential to be the largest collection of 453rd Bomb Group memorabilia in existence. Airfields of the Eighth, Then and Now, after the Battle ISBN 0-900913-09-6 Freeman, Roger A. The Mighty Eighth The Colour Record, ISBN 0-304-35708-1 Maurer, Maurer, ed. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Washington, DC, Office of Air Force History, Maurer, Maurer, ed. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II. Washington, DC, Office of Air Force History

35.
92d Operations Group
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The 92d Operations Group is the flying component of the 92d Air Refueling Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command Eighteenth Air Force. The group is stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, the 92d Bomb Group was the first Bomb group to make a non-stop Atlantic flight to United Kingdom. It tested the secret Disney rocket-assisted-bomb experimental mission early in 1945, in the postwar era, the 92d Bombardment Group was one of the first USAAF units assigned to the Strategic Air Command on 4 August 1946, prior to the establishment of the United States Air Force. The group being activated as a redesignation of the 448th Bombardment Group due to the Air Forces policy of retaining only low-numbered groups on active duty after the war. It was deployed to Far East Air Force in 1950 and its B-29 Superfortress flew combat missions over North Korea early in the Korean War, the group was inactivated in 1952 when the parent wing adopted the Tri-Deputate organization and assigned all of the groups squadrons directly to the wing. Reactivated as the 92d Operations Group in 1991 when the 92d Wing adopted the USAF Objective organization plan, the 92d Bombardment Group was activated on 1 March 1942 at Barksdale Field in Louisiana. After training at Sarasota AB from May–July 1942, the Air Echelon left for Westover Army Airfield, Massachusetts and moved to Dow AB, in August, the squadrons flew to Newfoundland and then direct across the Atlantic to Prestwick, Scotland. They were the first unit to make a non-stop Atlantic crossing from Gander, Newfoundland, the Ground echelon sailed on USS West Point on 6 August 1942, and docked at Liverpool on 18 August 1942. This was the day the first aircraft of the 326th Bomb squadron arrived in Bovingdon. The last squadron - the 407th - arrived on 28 August 1942, the group was assigned to VIII Bomber Command and allocated RAF Bovingdon as its base. The group was assigned to the 40th Combat Bombardment Wing at RAF Thurleigh, the 92d flew a few two combat missions in September and October 1942, then was withdrawn from combat and its B-17F bombers exchanged for the older B-17E bombers being flown by the 97th Bomb Group. The 92d then acted as a training unit supplying combat crews to combat groups in the UK. The 325th squadron was used to provide a cadre for H2S radar training, in January 1943, the 92d was transferred to RAF Alconbury where it was reformed as an operational combat group. At Alconbury the group took the name Fames Favorite Few, the Group resumed operational flying missions on 1 May 1943. At Alconbury, the groups 327th Bombardment Squadron became the squadron to be equipped with the experimental YB-40 Fortress gunship from May through August 1943. The YB-40 was developed to test the escort bomber concept, twelve of the 22 B-17F bombers modified to the YB-40 configuration were dispatched to Alconbury for testing and evaluation. After 14 operational missions, the 11 surviving YB-40s were taken out of combat service, from Podington, the group flew almost 300 operational missions over Nazi-Occupied Europe. Missions were flown to Wilhelmshaven, a plant at Hanover, airfields near Paris, an aircraft factory at Nantes

36.
Edwards Air Force Base
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Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation in southern California, located approximately 22 miles northeast of Lancaster and 15 miles east of Rosamond. It operates the U. S. Air Force Test Pilot School and is home to NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center, previously known as Muroc Air Force Base, Edwards AFB is named in honor of Captain Glen Edwards. Edwards became a test pilot in 1943 and spent much of his time at Muroc Army Air Field, on Californias high desert and he died in the crash of a Northrop YB-49 flying wing near Muroc AFB on 5 June 1948. The base is next to Rogers Dry Lake, an endorheic salt pan whose hard dry lake surface provides a natural extension to Edwards runways. This large landing area, combined with excellent year-round weather, makes the good for flight testing. The lake is a National Historic Landmark, the base has played a significant role in the development of virtually every aircraft to enter the Air Force inventory since World War II. Almost every United States military aircraft since the 1950s has been at least partially tested at Edwards, the Wing also oversees the base’s day-to-day operations and provides support for military, federal civilian, and contract personnel assigned to Edwards AFB. 412th Operations Group. There are eight flight test squadrons under the 412th Operations Group with as many as 20 aircraft assigned to each, the 412 OS flies an average of 90 aircraft with upwards of 30 different aircraft designs. It also performs more than 7,400 missions on an annual basis and they provide the tools, talent and equipment for the core disciplines of aircraft structures, propulsion, avionics and electronic warfare evaluation of the latest weapon system technologies. The Project and Resource Management Divisions provide the foundation for the program management of test missions. 412th Civil Engineer Division 412th Maintenance Group 412th Medical Group 412th Mission Support Group U. S, the comprehensive curriculum of Test Pilot School is fundamental to the success of flight test and evaluation. There are a vast array of organizations at Edwards that do not fall under the 412th Test Wing and these units do everything from providing an on-base grocery store to testing state-of-the-art rockets. The 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron provides Air Combat Command personnel to support combined test, established in 1917, it is one of the oldest units of the United States Air Force. The Desert Pirates are part of the 53d Test and Evaluation Group, Nellis AFB, Nevada, the 31st is staffed with a mixture of operations, maintenance and engineering experts who plan and conduct tests, evaluate effectiveness and suitability, and influence system design. The squadrons personnel are integrated into the B-1, B-2, B-52, Global Hawk, MQ-9 and their results and conclusions support Department of Defense acquisition, deployment and employment decisions. AFOTEC Detachment 5 is responsible for conducting the operational test and evaluation of USAF aircraft, certification by Detachment 5 is required in advance prior to new aircraft prior to AFMC full rate production and combat fielding decisions. During 1978 and 1979, an AFFTC test pilot and a pair of flight test engineers were engaged in testing with Lockheeds low-observable technology demonstrator. The successful conduct of tests led immediately to the development of the F-117A Nighthawk

37.
Sacramento Executive Airport
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Sacramento Executive Airport is a public airport three miles south of downtown Sacramento, in Sacramento County, California. The airport covers 540 acres and has three runways and a helipad, when it opened in 1930, Executive Airport was known as Sutterville Aerodrome. As the city-owned facility expanded, in 1941 construction was underway to pave, the U. S. Army Air Corps took over the airport during World War II. After the war, control was returned to the city and the facility was renamed Sacramento Municipal Airport, during the late 1940s and early 1950s, improvements were made to parking and taxiway paving, water and sewer systems, and runway/taxiway lighting. The terminal building was built in 1955 along with some navigational aids, flights by Pacific Air Lines to the north continued to Chico, Eureka/Arcata, Crescent City and Portland, OR. Pacific Air Lines flight 771 flew Reno-Lake Tahoe-Sacramento-San Francisco-San Jose-Fresno-Bakersfield-Burbank-Los Angeles-San Diego, united Airlines flight 224 was a Boeing 727-100 San Francisco-Sacramento-Reno-Denver-Chicago-New York La Guardia. Aircraft included Martin 4-0-4s and Fairchild F-27s, Lockheed L-188 Electras, Boeing 727-100s and Boeing 720Bs, in October 1967 the airlines moved to the new Sacramento Metropolitan Airport and Sacramento Municipal Airport was renamed Sacramento Executive Airport. The County of Sacramento became the operator of both airports, since then Executive Airport has become Northern Californias primary general aviation airport. Executive Airport is self-supporting, receiving no city, county, or tax money, all operating expenses are paid by users. On September 24,1972, a former military Canadair Sabre Mk.5 jet in civilian ownership with US registration N275X was set to perform an air display at the Golden West Sport Aviation Show. Due to pilot error, the failed to become airborne, went off the end of the runway, across a road. The explosion killed 22, twelve of those children, and injured 28 more people, the tragedy prompted closure of that runway, stricter regulations at the airport, and the opening of the Sacramento Firefighters Burn Institute. A memorial was constructed at the site and dedicated in March 2003. Sacramento Executive Airport is a general aviation airport with facilities and services. In addition to an FAA tower, the airport has three paved runways and has tie-downs and hangar rentals, in 2004, aircraft operations averaged 370 per day. Over 20 businesses are located at Executive, providing, air charters, aircraft sales, rentals and repairs, flight training, pilot supplies, computer-based testing, and car rentals. Located 10 minutes from downtown Sacramento, Executive is close to tourist attractions such as Old Sacramento, the State Capitol, Cal Expo State Fairgrounds, the airport is also located near three public golf courses and major shopping areas. Executive has three runways, two lighted, Runway 2/20 measures 5,503 ft x 150 ft, a Medium Intensity Approach Light System with Runway Alignment Indicator Lights is installed on Runway 2, while REIL and VASI are on Runway 20

38.
Naval Air Station Alameda
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Naval Air Station Alameda was a United States Navy Naval Air Station in Alameda, California, on San Francisco Bay. NAS Alameda had two runways, 07-25 and 13–31, two helicopter pads and a control tower were also part of the facilities. The airport site included the Alameda Terminal of the First Transcontinental Railroad, by 1930, United States Army Air Corps operations referred to the site as Benton Field. Pan American World Airways used the harbor as the California terminal for China Clipper trans-Pacific flights beginning in 1935. The China Clipper terminal is designated California Historical Landmark #968, on 1 June 1936, the city of Alameda, California ceded the airport to the United States government a few months before the Army discontinued operations from the field. Pan American World Airways shifted its terminal to Treasure Island in 1939 for the Golden Gate International Exposition, congressional appropriations passed in 1938 for construction of naval air station facilities for two carrier air wings, five seaplane squadrons and two utility squadrons. Appropriations were increased in 1940 for construction of two hangars and an aircraft carrier berthing pier, and naval operations began on 1 November 1940. Fleet Air Wing 8 began patrol and scouting missions following the attack on Pearl Harbor, in April 1942, the USS Hornet loaded at Alameda the 16 B-25 aircraft that would take part in the Doolittle Raid on Japan. Air support training unit No.2 at Alameda included the fleet radar operators school, Link celestial navigation Trainer school, from 1949 to 1953, the Navy-based the Lockheed R6V Constitution—the largest airplane ever listed on the Navy inventory—at NAS Alameda. The two prototypes regularly flew between nearby NAS Moffett Field and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the base was the focus for northern California United States Navy Reserve drill after 1961. Runways were lengthened for jet aircraft, and the airport was renamed Nimitz Field in 1967 following the death of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. Nuclear powered aircraft carriers were home ported at Alameda into the 1990s, the base was closed in 1997. After the base closed on 25 April 1997, the USS Hornet was given to the air station to be used as a museum ship. The television series MythBusters often conducted vehicle-based experiments on the grounds of the station, for the same reason, this location has been used as a checkpoint for the Bullrun rally race, the lengthy airstrip allowed for the staging of a challenge involving chasing a semi-trailer. A two-mile freeway loop was constructed on the base for the filming of a car chase sequence for the movie The Matrix Reloaded. The loop cost over $1.5 million to construct and was used solely for shooting the films chase scenes before it was demolished, the route is still visible on some aerial photography on the former 07/25 and 13/31 runways. Since 2000, the city of Alameda has been planning the redevelopment of the former Naval Air Station, in August 2001, Alameda selected Alameda Point Community Partners as the master developer for the property. APCP was a partnership of financier Morgan Stanley, Shea Homes of Livermore, Centex Homes of Dallas, the development was estimated to cost $2 billion and take 15 years to complete

39.
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point
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Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, USA, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 and is home to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. Several former outlying landing fields have been converted to regional airports, such as MCOF Greenville, MCAA Kinston, actual clearing of the site began on August 6,1941, with extensive drainage and malaria control work. Construction began in November just 17 days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, on May 20,1942, the facility was commissioned Cunningham Field, named in honor of the Marine Corps first aviator, Lieutenant Colonel Alfred A. Cunningham. The completed facility was later renamed Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, Cherry Points primary World War II mission was to train units and individual Marines for service to the Pacific theater. During the Vietnam War, Cherry Point deployed three A-6 Intruder squadrons to the Far East and again provided a constant source of replacements for aircrews, on September 8,2007, the headquarters building was gutted by a fire. The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Headquarters Building was on 29 July 2009, the air station and its associated support locations occupy more than 29,000 acres. Its runway system is enough that the air station served as an alternate emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle launches out of Cape Canaveral. In 2013, Cherry Point hosted warfighters, technology teams and testers under the flags of 10 nations, the Joint Staff, J6 Joint Deployable Analysis Team led the test plan design, execution control, and emplaced the necessary infrastructure to connect the numerous geographic sites across seven states. Cherry Point was chosen for its location for hosting East Coast military assets. On 1 July 1957 the United States Air Force 614th Airborne Control and this station was part of the planned deployment of forty-four Mobile radar stations. The Air Force activated an AN/FPS-6 and two AN/FPS-8 radars located adjacent to Base Flight Operations and these radars were placed on top of 90-foot towers without radomes, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station. As a GCI station, the role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the units radar scopes. One of the AN/FPS-8s was damaged by Hurricane Donna in 1960, the radars were turned over to the Navy on 30 April 1960, and the Marine Corps retained the other undamaged AN/FPS-8 radar for a number of years for base air traffic control. During 1961 M-116 joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment system, initially feeding data to DC-04 at Fort Lee AFS, after joining, the squadron was re-designated as the 614th Radar Squadron on 1 March 1963. The radar squadron provided information 24/7 the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range, direction altitude speed, Air Force radar operations continued at MCAS Cherry Point until 1 August 1963 when budget reductions and a general draw-down of antiaircraft radar sites closed the facility. Bibliography Shettle Jr. M. L. United States Marine Corps Air Stations of World War II

40.
Fresno Yosemite International Airport
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Fresno Yosemite International Airport, formerly Fresno Air Terminal, is a joint civil-military public airport in eastern Fresno, in Fresno County, California. The airport covers 2,150 acres and has two runways and one helipad and it is the air transport center for the San Joaquin Valley, with flights to several airline hubs in the western United States. International flights to Mexico are available through Aeroméxico and Volaris and it is also home to Fresno Air National Guard Base and the 144th Fighter Wing of the California Air National Guard. The airfield opened in June 1942, during World War II the airfield was known as Hammer Field and was used by the United States Army Air Forces Fourth Air Force. Hammer Field was a base and had three sub-bases and two gunnery ranges. Today the California Air National Guard 144th Fighter Wing occupies two parcels of land at the airport—the main base area and the Munitions Storage Area. These areas of the airport are known as the Fresno Air National Guard Base and this military unit currently operates F-15 Eagle jet fighters, and previously operated F-16C Fighting Falcon and F-4D Phantom jet interceptor aircraft. Trans World Airlines and United Airlines flights to San Francisco/Oakland and Los Angeles moved from Chandler Field to Fresno Air Terminal in 1947, in 1988 the FAA designated the airport an International Point of Entry, allowing international flights. In 1996 the airports name was changed to attract out-of-state and international visitors to Yosemite National Park, since its opening, the airport has gone through multiple renovations and expansions. In 2002, a new two-level concourse building designed by DMJM Aviation was completed, Fresno has been the headquarters for at least three airlines. In the mid 1990s Air 21 flew Fokker F28 Fellowship jets to destinations including nonstop to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and San Francisco. Allegiant Air also called Fresno home but then moved its headquarters to Las Vegas, in 2000, Allegiant was operating McDonnell Douglas DC-9 jet service nonstop to Las Vegas and Long Beach. United Airlines was a player at the airport for many years, operating Boeing 727-100, Boeing 727-200, Boeing 737-200, Boeing 737-300. United even flew stretched Douglas Super DC-8 series 61 flights to Denver, San Francisco, with over 200 seats these DC-8-61s were the largest airliners ever scheduled into Fresno. In the 1990s there was a shift to smaller regional jet and turboprop aircraft, however, mainline jet aircraft currently serving Fresno include Boeing 737-800 service nonstop to Dallas/Fort Worth operated by American Airlines. Allegiant Air flies McDonnell Douglas MD80s nonstop to Las Vegas and Phoenix/Mesa and was also operating Boeing 757-200 nonstops to Honolulu before ceasing service to Hawaii from the airport, Aeroméxico flies Boeing 737s while Volaris operates Airbus A319s with both airlines flying nonstop to Guadalajara, Mexico. Delta Air Lines had announced new flights to Fresno from Atlanta, however, the current version of Frontier Airlines was flying nonstop Airbus A319 service to Denver three days a week but has since abandoned this service. Direct international service from Fresno ended when Mexicana ceased operations in August 2010 to Guadalajara International Airport, however, international flights returned when Volaris and Aeroméxico restored service between Fresno and Guadalajara in April 2011

41.
Hickam Air Force Base
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Hickam Field is a United States Air Force installation, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel Horace Meek Hickam. The base merged with the Naval Base Pearl Harbor to become part of the Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, the base neighbors Honolulu International Airport and currently shares runways with the airport for its activities and purposes. Hickam is home to the 15th Wing and 67 partner units including Headquarters of Pacific Air Forces, Hawaii Air National Guard, the Air Mobility Commands 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing provides tactical and strategic airlift within the Pacific region. In addition, Hickam supports 140 tenant and associate units, the 15th Wing is composed of four groups each with specific functions. The 15th Operations Group controls all flying and airfield operations, the 15th Maintenance Group performs aircraft and aircraft ground equipment maintenance. The 15th Medical Group provides medical and dental care and these units are structured according to the Total Force Integration concept, and as such have both an active duty Commander and a Guard Commander. They share missions as well as equipment.78 and it was the largest peacetime military construction project in the United States to that date and continued through 1941. The Quartermaster Corps was assigned the job of constructing a modern airdrome from tangled algaroba brush, planning, design, and supervision of construction were all conducted by Capt. Howard B. Construction was still in progress when the first contingent of 12 men, Hickam Field was completed and officially activated on September 15,1938. In early 1939 construction began on the barracks, a single three-story nine-winged structure to house 3,200 men at a cost of $1,039,000. Personnel began moving into the barracks in January 1940, and by its completion on 30 September 1940, it was fully occupied, Hickam was the principal army airfield in Hawaii and the only one large enough to accommodate the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. In connection with plans for the Pacific, aircraft were brought to Hawaii throughout 1941 to prepare for potential hostilities. The first mass flight of bombers from Hamilton Field, California arrived at Hickam on 14 May 1941, Hickam suffered extensive damage and aircraft losses, with 189 people killed and 303 wounded. During World War II, the became a major center for training pilots. Hickam is home to the 65th Airlift Squadron which transports theater senior military leaders throughout the world in the C-37B and C-40 Clipper aircraft. In mid-2003, the 15th Air Base Wing was converted to the 15th Airlift Wing as it prepared to beddown and fly the Air Forces newest transport aircraft, the first Hickam-based C-17 arrived in February 2006, with seven more to follow during the year. The C-17s will be flown by the 535th Airlift Squadron, on September 16,1985, the Secretary of the Interior designated Hickam Field a National Historic Landmark, recognizing its key role in the World War II Pacific campaign. A bronze plaque reflecting Hickams national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America took its place among other memorials surrounding the base flagpole, dominating the area is a large bronze tablet engraved with the names of those who died as a result of the 1941 attack

42.
Hawkins Field (Tarawa)
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Hawkins Field is a former World War II airfield on Betio, Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands of the Central Pacific. The airfield was named in honor of USMC 1st Lt. William Dean Hawkins who was killed in the battle to recapture Tarawa, the airfield was built by the Japanese in 1943. There was a turnaround at the end of the runway. The Japanese had Zeros, Vals, Nells and Bettys operating from this base, during the Battle of Tarawa, United States Marines seized the airfield as a target of the operation, to enable USAAF land-based air operations against the Japanese in the Marshall Islands. After the battle, US Navy Seebees bulldozed all the debris off the airfield and extended the right to the western end. Initially the USAAF moved the 41st Bombardment Group to Hawkins which operated four squadrons of B-25 Mitchell medium bombers from the airfield starting in December. In January 1944, Hawkins became the headquarters of the United States Army Air Forces VII Bomber Command, by late January, the USAAF moved both groups over to Bonriki and Hawkins was then used by Naval fighters, light aircraft and as an emergency landing airfield for Mullinix. As the battles moved further towards Japan, the airfield was abandoned and after the war, today, the roads on the island reflect the outlines of the airfield and supporting roads of the wartime facilities. USAAF in the Central Pacific This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History

43.
Butaritari Atoll Airport
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Butaritari Atoll Airport is an airport on Butaritari in the Pacific Ocean island nation of Kiribati. Butaritari Atoll Airport was built in Kiribati during World War II by the United States after seizing the island from the Japanese, construction lasted approximately one month, from November 20 to mid-December, of 1943. During the war, the airport was known as Makin Airfield, Butaritari Airfield, Antakana Airfield, the airfield was the base of operations for the United States Army Air Forces Seventh Air Force 41st Bombardment Group which flew four squadrons of B-25 Mitchell medium bombers. Missions from the airfield were flown against Japanese shipping, bypassing islands in the Marshalls, in addition to the 41st, the 43d Fighter Squadron flew P-39 Airacobras and the 531st Bomb Squadron flew A-24 Dauntless light attack aircraft from the airfield in late 1943 and early 1944. The Americans pulled out at the end of 1944, abandoning the airfield, after the war, the airfield was turned into a commercial airport. USAAF in the Central Pacific This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History, Maurer, Maurer, ed. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II. Washington, DC, Office of Air Force History

44.
Wheeler Army Airfield
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It is a National Historic Landmark for its role in the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Two canvas hangars were erected and the field cleared of weeds, guava, thus Wheeler Field got its modest start. It was named Wheeler Field on 11 November 1922 in honor of Major Sheldon H. Wheeler, former commander of Luke Field on Ford Island, killed in the crash of DH-4B, No.63525 on 13 July 1921. In June 1923,13 months after the designation of the new flying field, shop hangars, airplane hangars, in 1927, one of the wooden shop hangars was remodeled to provide space for a barracks and a mess hall incident to the formation of a pursuit group. It was not until 1930 that any permanent construction was started, many different units were originally stationed at Wheeler Field. The first units of the Schofield Barracks divisional airdrome were the 4th Observation Squadron, Photo Section No.11, in October 1922, the photo section and intelligence units were returned to Luke Field. The following May, the 17th Composite Group was organized at Wheeler and it consisted of a Headquarters Squadron, the 19th Pursuit Squadron and the 4th Observation Squadron. These units operated from the field until January 1924, when the 17th Group was rendered inactive, three years later, the foundation for the present 18th Pursuit Group was laid and the 6th and 19th Pursuit Squadrons were transferred from Luke Field. More squadrons were added to the 18th Pursuit Group and Bellows Field was opened as an aerial gunnery camp for the use of tactical organizations. The 15th Pursuit Group was formed next and was made a permanent part of the airdrome, hand in hand with this move came the formation of the 14th Pursuit Wing. S. to Australia in 1928, and the first Hawaii-to-Mainland solo flight in 1935 by Amelia Earhart. Ms. Earhart visited Wheeler Field in 1935 in her Lockheed Vega, kingsford Smith, in his plane, the Southern Cross, also used the airfield on his historic flights across the Pacific. By 1940, Wheeler Field had evolved into a base for Army Air Corps pursuit aircraft such as the P-40 Warhawk. Wheeler Army Airfield was a target and site of the first attack on 7 December 1941. The Japanese attacked the airfield to prevent the numerous planes there from getting airborne, 2nd Lieutenant Phil Rasmussen found an old, unscathed Curtiss P-36 Hawk and taxied it to a revetment where he had it loaded with ammunition. During a lull in the bombing, he took off three other pilots. Lieutenant Rasmussen managed to shoot down a Mitsubishi A6M Zero and the American pilots subsequently engaged 11 Japanese aircraft, the installation has a National Historic Landmark District in association with the attack on 7 December 1941. The 1941 Flightline, hangars and barracks survive today, casualties at Wheeler totaled 33 killed and 75 wounded. Of the 233 aircraft assigned to the Hawaiian Air Force,146 were in commission before the attack, afterward, only 83 were in commission and 76 had been totally destroyed

45.
Yontan Airfield
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Yontan Airfield is a former military airfield on Okinawa, located Yomitan, Okinawa Village on the Okinawa western coast. It was closed in July 1996 and turned over to the Japanese government in December 2006, today it is home to the Yomitan Village Office and community complex, including baseball fields, running tracks, and community facilities. Yontan Airfield was originally established by Imperial Japanese Army in 1944 as Kita Airfield, during the Battle of Okinawa on April 1,1945, United States Marine Corps and United States Army forces seized the airfield on the first day of the landing. It was quickly repaired and became the first airfield on Okinawa to be used by the American forces, later, it was developed into a major American base for Army, Marine, and Navy aircraft. Boeing B-29 Bockscar landed at Yomitan after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. It was at Yontan that the American forces first found copies of the Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka rocket-propelled kamikaze aircraft, the final approach was almost unstoppable because the aircraft gained tremendous speed. Seven US ships were damaged or sunk by Ohkas throughout the war, eighth Air Force was reassigned to Mac Dill AAF, Florida on June 7,1946. All assigned units in the Pacific were reassigned to Twentieth Air Force that date, the 312th Bomb Group, 386th Bomb Squadron was the sole USAAF squadron that flew the Consolidated B-32 Dominator in combat. Following the dropping of the bombs, in August 1945, the squadron was ordered to move to Okinawa from the Philippines. These combat missions were flown in spite of a de facto cease-fire that had been called following the bombing of Nagasaki, during this time, the B-32s flew mainly photographic reconnaissance missions, most of which were unopposed. However, on August 17, a group of four B-32s flying over Tokyo were fired on by radar-directed flak and were attacked by Japanese fighters, the American aircraft escaped with only minor damage, claiming one confirmed fighter kill and two probables. During a reconnaissance mission over Tokyo on August 18, serials 42-108532, the American gunners claimed two kills and one probable, but 578 was badly shot up and one of her crew was killed with two being injured. That was to prove to be the last combat action of World War II, the last Dominator mission of the war was flown by four B-32s on August 28 in a reconnaissance mission to Tokyo. The mission was a disaster, although not because of any enemy action, 42-108544 lost an engine on takeoff and skidded off the runway. All 13 men aboard perished when the aircraft exploded and burned, on the way back from the target, 42-108528 lost power on two of its four engines. The planes pilot ordered the crew to bail out, but two men were killed, after 1947, there were no permanently assigned units to Yontan, and the base was used as auxiliary for Kadena Air Base until the mid-1950s. Afterward it was placed in reserve status. In June 1948, the 170th Airway and Air Communications Service Squadron was activated at Yontan, to air traffic control

46.
Fort Bonifacio
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Fort Bonifacio, is the national headquarters of the Philippine Army and is located in southeastern Metro Manila in an area disputed between Taguig, Makati and Pateros. It is located near the headquarters of the Philippine Air Force. The camp is named after Andres Bonifacio, the leader of the Katipunan during the revolutionary period of the Philippines against Spain - Philippine Revolution. Fort William McKinley, now Fort Bonifacio, was established during the Philippine–American War in 1901 and this expropriation was later challenged by then President Ferdinand E. Marcos and the US agreed to compensate, through him, in trust deposits. In 1916, the 3rd Battalion of the 31st Infantry Regiment was formed here, until December 1920, this was the home of the 31st Infantry Regiment. During World War II, the USAFFE headquarters for the Philippine Department, the bulk of the Philippine Division was stationed there and this was where, under the National Defense Act of 1935, specialized artillery training was conducted. On May 14,1949, Fort McKinley was turned over to the Philippine government, the facility became the home of the Philippine Army and later the Philippine Navy and was renamed Fort Bonifacio. It lies in the cities of Pasay, Parañaque, Makati, the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial was established here. Later, it was turned into a real estate development area called Bonifacio Global City, Military History of the Philippines Military History of the United States

47.
Luzon
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Luzon (/luːˈzɒn/, Tagalog pronunciation, is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. It is ranked 15th largest in the world, with a population of 52.99 million as of 2015, it is the fourth most populous island in the world, containing about 53% of the countrys total population. Luzon may also refer to one of the three island groups in the country. The name Luzon is thought to derive from the Tagalog word lusong, from just before the first millennium, the Tagalog and Kapampangan peoples of south and central Luzon had established several Indianized kingdoms, notably among them those of Tundok and Namayan. The Laguna Copperplate Inscription, the first Philippine document written in 900AD, names places in and these kingdoms were based on leases between village rulers and landlords or Rajahs, to whom tributes and taxes were levied. These kingdoms were coastal thalassocracies based on trade with neighboring Asian political entities at that time, some parts of Luzon were Islamized when the Sultanate of Brunei expanded its realms from Borneo to the Philippines and set up the Kingdom of Maynila as its puppet-state. In addition, other kingdoms like the Wangdom of Pangasinan had become tributary states to China and were largely Sinified kingdoms, certain kilns were renowned over others and prices depended on the reputation of the kiln. Of this flourishing trade, the Burnay jars of Ilocos are the large clay jar manufactured in Luzon today with origins from this time. The Yongle Emperor instituted a Chinese Governor on Luzon during Zheng Hes voyages, China also had vassals among the leaders in the archipelago. China attained ascendancy in trade with the area in Yongles reign, in the 1500s, people from Luzon were called Lucoes and were actively employed in trading, seafaring and military campaigns across Southeast Asia. The Portuguese were the first European explorers who recorded it in their charts as Luçonia or Luçon, edmund Roberts, who visited Luzon in the early 19th century, wrote that Luzon was discovered in 1521. Many people from Luzon had active-employment in Portuguese Malacca and his father and wife carried on his maritime trading business after his death. Another important Malacca trader was Curia de Raja who also hailed from Luzon, the surname of de Raja or diraja could indicate that Regimo and Curia, and their families, were of noble or royal descent as the term is an abbreviation of Sanskrit adiraja. Pinto noted that there were a number of Lucoes in the Islamic fleets that went to battle with the Portuguese in the Philippines during the 16th century, the Sultan of Aceh gave one of them the task of holding Aru in 1540. Pinto also says one was named leader of the Malays remaining in the Moluccas Islands after the Portuguese conquest in 1511, pigafetta notes that one of them was in command of the Brunei fleet in 1521. However, the Luções did not only fight on the side of the Muslims, pinto says they were also apparently among the natives of the Philippines who fought the Muslims in 1538. On Mainland Southeast Asia, Lusung/Lucoes warriors aided the Burmese king in his invasion of Siam in 1547 AD, at the same time, Lusung warriors fought alongside the Siamese king and faced the same elephant army of the Burmese king in the defence of the Siamese capital at Ayuthaya. Scholars have thus suggested that they could be valued by all sides

The 92d Operations Group (92 OG) is the flying component of the 92d Air Refueling Wing, assigned to the United States …

Image: 92doperationsgroup emblem

Emblem of the 92d Bombardment Group

Senior Pilots pose in front of a 325th Bomb Squadron Boeing B-17F-105-BO, AAF Serial No. 42-30455, after a successful mission to Hülser Berg Germany in late June 1943. Equipped with radar, this aircraft flew several missions as the lead aircraft of the group. Unfortunately, this aircraft went down in the North Sea 16 November 1943 while returning from Norway after being transferred to the 390th BG/569th BS at RAF Framlingham in Suffolk. 10 crew MIA. MACR 1400

Unidentified 92d Bomb Group B-17F at Alconbury Airfield, summer 1943. In the background is a familiar sight to anyone who ever served at RAF Alconbury, the village of Little Stukeley

Alaska AirlinesEmbrear 175 operated by SkyWest Airlines parked at the gate at Fresno Yosemite International Airport. SkyWest is a major operator from Fresno with a maintenance facility and aircrew base located at the airport.

Boeing RB-47H-1-BW Stratojet Serial 53-2496 on the snowy Eielson flightline. This would be the last B-47 in active USAF service, and is now preserved at the Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin AFB, Florida.

Hickam Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel …

Bullet holes still visible

Hickam Field, 1940. Pearl Harbor Navy Yard is in the upper left corner and the main barracks is immediately left of the eight hangars in the center.

Boeing B-17D Fortresses of the 5th Bombardment Group overfly the main gate at Hickam Field, Hawaii Territory during the summer of 1941. 21 B-17C/Ds had been flown out to Hawaii during May to reinforce the defenses of the islands.

The Hawaii Air National Guard (HI ANG) is the air force militia of the State of Hawaii, United States of America. It …

Image: F 22 Raptor 100702 F 4815G 217

Hawaii ANG in 2010. The C-40 Clipper, operated by the 65th Airlift Squadron (65 AS) is part of the 15th Airlift Wing at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. The aircraft provides executive airlift in the Pacific theater and support for worldwide aerial transportation operations.